


Winter Heat

by UNCONQU3R3D



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Past Stalking Mentioned, Random Trees Falling, Serious Injuries, Unsafe Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 21:19:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11791686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UNCONQU3R3D/pseuds/UNCONQU3R3D
Summary: Kyungsoo and Baekhyun somehow, conveniently, get trapped together in a snowstorm and are forced to survive. Easier said than done since they can't stand each other.





	Winter Heat

**Author's Note:**

> The idea of baeksoo in a storm was too tempting to pass. I hope I have done justice with this story. Some of the descriptions regarding survival might be inaccurate.

 

IT'S their friends who set them up. 

   "Look, you're both my friends," says Chanyeol, after dropping the bomb on them. "I can't just ask one of you to move out."

   "Besides, it's affecting all of us," says Jongin, looking pleased since its his plan. "Until the two of you get your act together, we are not going to meet you."

   Kyungsoo fumes, standing in front of these two smirking bastards and cursing them to the darkest pits of hell. In his head, of course.

   Baekhyun stands a few steps away, still gaping like a fish out of the tank. So far, he hasn't shared his opinion about this shit storm waiting to happen.

   "You want us to get along," Kyungsoo says, softly and trying to force his anger aside. "I get that. What I don't get, is this hideous plan!"

   The hideous plan, which Kyungsoo now holds in his clutched fist, is an envelope containing the travel schedule to a "romantic" getaway in the mountains, all wrapped up with nice "honeymoon" packages, a key card, hiking, cable car, sledding and private taxi passes. It's Jongin's idea, and paid for by Chanyeol. The last part is the only reason why he hasn't ripped it all up by now - he knows Chanyeol spent a lot.

   "I have to agree," Baekhyun, coming out of his daze, finally speaks. "You could've asked us nicely and we would have tried to get along. Forcing us to take a trip is a bit... too much."

   Jongin sighs. Chanyeol snaps, "We've been asking you nicely ever since the senior year began! Obviously, it hasn't worked."

   Baekhyun bites his lips. Kyungsoo is trying not to cry out in frustration. It's not that he doesn't want to go, or even that it's a romantic getaway. He's fine with all of it, really. There's only one problem.

   Baekhyun and him - they just don't get along. Ever.

   He's tried, of course. Kyungsoo tried being nice to Baekhyun once and baked him a birthday cake. Baekhyun repaid that gesture by throwing the said cake against the wall as a "joke." He stopped trying after that. His goal of getting a degree and obtaining a respectable job now came with a new clause: get as far away from Baekhyun as possible.

   If it was anyone else, Kyungsoo wouldn't even think twice about it. But with Baekhyun... his blood just boils, and not in the good way.

   "I'm afraid you have no choice," Chanyeol makes the decision for them. "You take the vacation, get over your misunderstandings, have a nice week off, and give me the peace of mind I deserve. Or, you can throw that envelope away, move out of my apartment, and we are no longer friends."

   Kyungsoo meets Baekhyun's eyes. They know what their choice will be. They can never disappoint Chanyeol, or disgrace his generous gift. Despite all their differences, they still have one thing in common: Chanyeol is their best friend.

   Kyungsoo inclines his head. "We'll fix this. I promise." Baekhyun nods beside him, earnest.

   As Kyungsoo finds himself alone in his room the night before they are supposed to leave, he finally lets himself think of the most important reason why this is a bad idea. 

   It's because he has a stupid crush on Baekhyun, ever since he first saw him. Well, that was before Baekhyun opened his mouth and started telling dirty jokes. Still, with the passage of time, his annoyance for Baekhyun has grown, so has his fondness. He snaps at Baekhyun, hits him too if he gets lucky... and mostly, tries to stay out of sight of Baekhyun's blast radius. He hoped that distance would help him get out of his crush - and it has. But all of his hard work was null and void now.

   He has to make peace with him, he vows to himself firmly as he goes to bed. For Chanyeol, if nothing else.

 

THEIR journey is fairly peaceful. The taxi appointed to drive them out of the city has a friendly driver. Once he knows that they are on a "romantic" getaway however, he becomes personally responsible for telling them about everything there is to see in the mountains. There's no gentle way of telling him that they are not a couple, so they just listen.

   Outside the city, they are supposed to catch a bus from the drive up. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun packed one suitcase each, with nothing extra. Their suitcases have everything they will need to survive a week with each other. 

   Considering that this is a trip to make them friendly to each other, they barely talk. Baekhyun put in his headphones and started listening to the music the minute he was in the taxi, and Kyungsoo was so flustered that he didn't even look at him. In the bus, however, they are forced to sit down together, in seats decidedly closer than the taxi's.

   "How far is this place?" Baekhyun grumbles as they settle down. "I can see the mountains from here. Are we going to the peak?"

   Kyungsoo shrugs. "A few more hours, I think."

   Baekhyun gives up and leans back on the seat. "I'm going to sleep."

   Kyungsoo also considers sleeping, but there are strangers about and he liked the mountains. So he keeps his eyes open, and enjoys the view. They don't know what sort of trip this is, and exactly how "romantic" all the accommodations will be. Hence, he tries to enjoy this leg of the journey at least.

   Exactly, an hour later, their bus enters a cozy mountain village. Kyungsoo nudges Baekhyun awake. It's their final stop, or so they think. As they get outside and catch their luggage, they hear snippets of conversations around them. It seems the locals are worried about the fast changing weather and a storm. Kyungsoo scans the sky. It's clear, the sun is shining. Apart from the usual cold of the area, nothing seems to be out of order.

   "I see a restaurant," Baekhyun says finally. "Let's go eat something."

   While they wait for their orders, Kyungsoo catches sight of another couple. They seem to be newly weds, and he is 90% sure he saw an exact same schedule envelope in the hand of the bride. He gets up, mumbling, "Wait here!" and catches up to them.

   "Excuse me?" The couple turns to look at him. "I was wondering, are you here for XYZ romantic getaway?"

   The groom's confusion gives way to a grin. "Of course, we are. Are you headed there too?"

   "Headed...? You mean it's not here?" Kyungsoo throws a panicked glance at Baekhyun, now eating a bowl full of noodles peacefully.

   "Oh, no. We have hired a jeep that's going to take us further up to our appointment," says the bride, then her eyes sparkle. "We can share the ride if you want."

   Kyungsoo bows to her, thankfully, and hurries back to explain the situation to Baekhyun.

   "It's further up?!" Baekhyun cries, looking woefully at his meal. "Chanyeol, that jerk! Are you sure this isn't a Buddhist retreat? What sort of idiot builds a motel away from the population?"

   Kyungsoo has no answer. They silently follow the newly weds, who are too happily in love that it grates on his nerves. Still, as they take in Baekhyun, they smile. Kyungsoo has a weird thought. He knows they are thinking that he and Baekhyun are also married. He doesn't ask them though, and they find themselves sharing a jeep.

   That's when the clear sky changes, quite rapidly. Dark clouds roll over, hiding the sun, and the lightening claws its way through the sky, followed by the dull boom of thunder. Baekhyun recoils in his seat, pushing closer to Kyungsoo automatically. He doesn't think much about it at first but then he looks across from him and sees the bride mimicking Baekhyun's pose, hanging on to her groom. He tries to edge away, and Baekhyun jerks away once he realizes what he's doing.

   When the first hail hits the windshield, the driver grumbles under his breath, "Goddamnit!" He looks like he wants to dump his cargo and leave, fast. 

   "Honey? What should we do?" the bride asks the nervous groom.

   "It's going to be okay, baby. We're almost there."

   Kyungsoo scans through the contents of their envelope again, just in case there is any mention of this place being surrounded by storms. There's nothing. Except the reminder that their destination is room no. 14.

   The driver makes a sharp turn amidst another booming thunder, and stops suddenly. "We're here."

   Here, turns out to be just a plain looking road, spotted with a few private vehicles. There are also a small number of cabins. Kyungsoo blinks, certain that this is the wrong address. But then the groom smiles in relief. "Look there, babe? That's cabin no. 7! It's ours."

   Cabin. Kyungsoo's mind reels. Not rooms. _Cabins._ In the middle of an area stranded in a hail storm. Beside him, Baekhyun is also stunned.

   By then, the driver is looking pale and impatient to go back home. Both couples split the fare and pay the driver. They get out, and are immediately drenched and pelted with hail. They barely get their suitcases out of the jeep, and the driver jets out of there, reversing fast. The bride and groom spare them a glance and run to their cabin, producing a key card from their envelope. 

   Kyungsoo looks at the cabin behind him. It's no. 4; which means, their cabin is further up the street. Without a word, they start running, dragging their suitcases behind them. Another flash of lighting blinds them, and they feel the thunder under the soles of their shoes, rumbling and angry.

   Finally, Baekhyun points through squinted eyes. "THERE!"

   Cabin no. 14 is the second last one in the lane. And it's further apart from other cabins, half hidden behind tall, swaying pines. Kyungsoo reaches the door first, ramming the key card in the slot. The relieving beep as the lock opens is heavenly, and they run in, shutting the door behind them. 

   It's dark, but safe, and slightly warm, compared to the hailstorm outside. Their cheeks are stinging from getting pelted so many times, and they are shivering. But, at least, they have shelter.

   Kyungsoo find the light switch, and turns on all the buttons. Baekhyun lets out a whistle.

   Despite being in a far off place, despite the storm, it's a comfortable looking log cabin. They are in the cozy little sitting room, with a walk-in kitchen to the left, and a fireplace to the right; there's fire wood stacked beside it in a neat pile. There's thick and soft carpet under their wet shoes; a door leads to what they assume is the bedroom. The place is really nice. Romantic, even. But at the moment, they are just happy to have a place to escape the madness outside.

   "Kyungsoo," says Baekhyun his voice a bit unsteady as he's still shivering. "What now?"

   "I'm making a fire. You get into dry clothes." Kyungsoo drops his suitcase by the door. Baekhyun starts dragging his to the bedroom.   

   After the both of them are in dry clothes and soaking up the warmth from the fire burning cheerily in the fireplace, they make strategy.

   "We survive tonight," Kyungsoo says, looking deep into the flames. "In the morning, we call Chanyeol and tell him we're good. We make it believable. In fact, I think we should just forget our previous misunderstandings and start anew for real. Then we get out of here."

   "Our previous misunderstandings?" Baekhyun echoes. "I think you mean YOUR previous misunderstandings."

   Kyungsoo turns his head sharply, and tries not to stare. In the light of fire, with hair drying from being wet, Baekhyun looks irresistible. "My...? I don't have any misunderstandings, Baekhyun. We both know that."

   Baekhyun snorts, anger clouding his features. "You really are something... You've hated me since the first day we met!"

   "And you've been nothing but a pain!"

   Unknowingly, their voices have risen. But the clash of thunder outside is louder. They feel its rumble inside, even as they sit on the carpet in front of the fire. Yet, they don't look away from one another, angry and blaming each other.

   "A pain..." Baekhyun mumbles, at last, breaking eye contact. "That's what you see me as? I wonder what I did to deserve that."

   "You want me to list it out?" Kyungsoo hisses, his voice incendiary. "First day of high school, you tripped me in the hallway in front of everyone. My glasses broke. I had to work extra shifts for an entire month to afford a new pair. At Jongin's birthday bash, you made me drink beer even after Chanyeol told you I get allergic, I was in hospital for the whole night. After our first semester, I baked you a cake for birthday; you threw it against a wall as if... as if I was feeding you poison! During the final term, you told everyone that I was available to "fuck" and gave out my number to all sorts of losers! I nearly failed, I wanted to drop out. Yes, Baekhyun, pain is the least insulting way I can describe you as."

   With each offence, Baekhyun looks guilty. He stares into the fire, ears too red under his black hair.

   "If you can give me a reasonable excuse for everything you've done, we can end this right now." Kyungsoo holds out his hand. "We'll shake on it. Become friends. But I need something, Baekhyun. What did I do to deserve all that?"

   But Baekhyun doesn't speak. He doesn't even look back at him. He's trembling now, and Kyungsoo knows it's not because of the cold. It's guilt, written in each tremor, in each shiver. It's enough for Kyungsoo, enough to know that there isn't a big reason or misunderstanding to begin with. Somehow, the knowledge that Baekhyun did all that just because, hurts more than ever.

   And he had a crush on him! Kyungsoo laughs at himself in his head. He must have been crazy!

   He gets up, heart heavy. "I'm going to sleep. Let's just lie to Chanyeol, if we have to. Good night." He leaves Baekhyun sitting there, still staring into the fire.

 

 

BAEKHYUN doesn't go inside the bedroom. He sits in front of the fire for a very long time.

   Outside, the storm worsens, mirroring the chaos inside himself.

   He messed up. He knows that, but still, there are no words that can explain his behavior over the last year. He had a reason, a reason which until a few moments ago seemed really reasonable. Before he saw how much his behavior have hurt Kyungsoo. 

   "I wanted you to notice me." He imagines himself explaining to Kyungsoo. "I wanted you to smile and laugh at my jokes. I wanted to be your friend." It sounds pathetic.

   It was only beginning to make sense to him now, that none of his jokes had been funny for Kyungsoo. Not only that, he didn't even know what those jokes resulted into until a few moments ago. It's strange, Chanyeol would have mentioned if his jokes were really that harmful... That stops him short. Chanyeol _had_ warned him, about the beer. He didn't believe him. And he slipped Kyungsoo a beer glass anyway. Chanyeol should have told him that Kyungsoo went to hospital for that.

   As for the birthday cake Kyungsoo made... that was just an accident. Pure and simple. He wanted to eat it, really. But his open shoelaces got in the way, and he tripped, and the cake flew at the wall, splattering chocolate and strawberry frosting on the white paint - the stains still exist. Kyungsoo took one look at the disaster and went to lock himself in his room, ignoring as Baekhyun tried to explain.

   In the end, Kyungsoo has misunderstandings. And Baekhyun has the blame for using the grade-A asshole-y methods to get his attention.

   But there was a reason for that too, Baekhyun remembers. And according to Kyungsoo, it seems like Kyungsoo can't even remember what that is.

   He stands up too, the fire slowly dying. He goes to the bedroom, and stops short. Kyungsoo is curled up on the left side, hugging the pillow to his chest. He looks peaceful, and utterly innocent. Baekhyun smiles, unexpectedly drawn to his frenemy. He wants to befriend Kyungsoo, because Kyungsoo is a contradiction. He's everything Baekhyun wants to be: intelligent, hardworking, mature, kind, serious and handsome.

   They've had their moments, too. Despite the fights and jokes and arguments, he knows Kyungsoo doesn't truly hate him. He knows because Kyungsoo was there, smiling when Baekhyun first aced his test. He remembers Kyungsoo's sympathetic eyes, when his mother was admitted to hospital for fever a few months back. He knows that whenever he wakes up from nightmares, Kyungsoo is also up, making him a hot cup of coco, claiming that he was up anyways because of a test. They are always around each other, being Chanyeol's friends and roommates makes it unavoidable, but they are never together. Chanyeol has tried everything to make them get along, but this time, Baekhyun thinks he might actually succeed.

   No matter how stupid his reasons, Baekhyun decides he's going to tell Kyungsoo everything in the morning. The worse that can happen is Kyungsoo would never see his face. And the best thing that can happen, they really enjoy this vacation together. That is, if Kyungsoo can forgive him.

 

KYUNGSOO wakes up as he feels something gigantic shatter nearby. His first thought is of burglars - but he knows there's nothing valuable in the apartment he shares with his three roommates. His second thought reminds him that he isn't in the apartment, but miles away, many hundred feet above sea level, in an isolated log cabin with enemy number one.

   Speaking of - Baekhyun is sleeping soundly beside him, one leg almost hanging off the bed. He tries not to stare at Baekhyun's strong thighs, clad only in cotton underwear, or the curve of his stomach, visible from his t-shirt riding up. But it is in moments like these, Baekhyun drooling on the pillow, that Kyungsoo wishes things were different between them.

   It's not the first time he wonders exactly what went wrong with them. They are both good friends to Chanyeol. When Jongin joined their group, they both accepted him too. But as soon as they came into immediate surroundings of each other, they collided. Kyungsoo remembers the first day he met Baekhyun. Chanyeol was happily jumping around the apartment, cleaning, organizing, emptying the previous storage room to share with a friend from his hometown. Kyungsoo was eager too, with another tenant to join, the burden of rent will become less for him and Chanyeol considerably, not to mention, they were starved for the company of another. He remembers the moment he saw Baekhyun - his wide smile as their eyes met. There was a moment of familiarity, as if Baekhyun was a long lost friend, smiling so widely at being reunited. But then, of course, Baekhyun opened his mouth and said, "Fuck! I didn't know you kept twinks!" Chanyeol let out a bark of laughter, then paled, hurriedly introducing them. Later, Chanyeol tried to assure him that it wasn't about Kyungsoo at all, that it was an old joke between Baekhyun and himself. 

   But their relationship was tainted from then on. It seemed like Baekhyun had some sort of secret mission to piss him off, and Kyungsoo always pretended he wasn't there. Most days it was difficult, what with his own conflicting emotions and Baekhyun's bright smiling eyes, and he would lose temper and grab Baekhyun long enough to choke him, or slap him, or punch him. It made things worse, if possible. Baekhyun's eyes glinted each time he successfully rattled Kyungsoo into retaliating physically, as if he was getting a reward. Kyungsoo hated him even more because of it. And did the only thing he could think of - ignore Baekhyun, disregard his jokes no matter how painful they seemed. Disregard his own lingering, perplexing feelings for him.

   Kyungsoo is so lost in his thoughts that he takes a moment to recollect himself. He blinks, looking around for the source of the noise that woke him up. There's nothing wrong with the cabin - at a first glance.

   He gets out of the blanket, and shivers. The cabin is too cold. He has to make fire soon. But all the heavy curtains are shut, and he can barely see through the light filtering in. He opens the curtains to the nearest window and pales.

   Throughout the evening and the night that they slept through, the world outside has changed. Hails were gone, replaced with a white cover over everything. It's a blizzard, a sheet of white hanging, revolving, murdering through the destructive air. And amongst the white and black mess - It's like a monster. No - it's not a monster. It's a tree, broken a few inches from their window, just stopping short of breaking it. The trees beside it still sway menacingly, ready to break but for the air pressure. 

   But worst than that, is the suspiciously empty lane. The vehicles that were there just a day ago (Was it a day? He didn't know the time yet.) were gone. Kyungsoo stares harder, hoping that he can find a car buried under the snow, but he sees nothing.

   "Baekhyun!" His voice cracks horribly. _"BAEKHYUN!"_

   Thankfully, he wakes up this time, mumbling nonsense. "What the fuck you want?"

   But something about Kyungsoo's posture, his shivering stillness alerts Baekhyun to join him. He also looks at the raging, empty, world outside. He also makes the same deductions.

   Numb with cold seeping through the tough logs into his bones, Kyungsoo finds his phone and sees 48 miss calls by Chanyeol, and 6 miss calls from the reception building at the beginning of the lane, and two voice mail messages. He opens the first message, putting it on speaker. Chanyeol's familiar voice trickles out, filling the silence of the cabin.

   "KYUNGSOO! BAEKHYUN!" Chanyeol's voice is familiar, but the panic in his voice isn't. Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol rarely panics. "I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE! YOU HAVE TO GET INTO THE RESCUE BUS! THE AREA IS UNDER A 5 DEGREE STORM! IT'S RED ZONE! WHY THE FUCK AREN'T YOU PICKING UP THE PHONE?!"

   Rescue bus. 5 Degree Storm. Red zone. The words filter to Kyungsoo's mind slowly. He clicks the second message. It's an unfamiliar voice, speaking with a forced calm, being professional despite the obvious fear.

   "Good Evening, this is the reception at XYZ Getaway. We regret to inform you that the schedule has been terminated because of the unfortunate conditions of the weather. Kindly, join the others for a safe removal from the area at 0700. Apologizing for the inconvenience, we thank you for your trust. Please note, you will be refunded in full. Thank you for your cooperation."

   Baekhyun rounds to the wall, studying the clock. Kyungsoo doesn't have to know what time it is. He knows that they missed their chance to escape. He knows... they are stuck here.

 

THE next few moments are nothing more than shock, settling in with panic. The first shocking thought that crosses both their minds is: _How could we sleep through the phone calls?_ The next is: _What are we going to do now?_

   Surprisingly, Baekhyun recovers first. He moves to the bedroom and comes back out fully clothed. He is holding his laptop, in the process of being booted on. In his other hand, he has the USB wifi connection. He logs in and starts writing up an e-mail.

   Silently commending Baekhyun for his fast thinking, Kyungsoo moves to the cold fireplace and, after several tries, gets the fire going. As the fiery glow spreads through the cabin sitting room, he realizes that they have been working blind. But as he switches on the lights, nothing happens. He turns off and switches back on the light buttons several times, and comes to a serious realization. "The power's out." They should've known it already. A storm strong enough to rip a giant pine tree from its root was definitely something that would cause a power outage.

   Baekhyun looks up from his typing, his face strangely white in the orange light. "At least we have candles." 

   They certainly had. The apartment was, surprisingly, full of candles; probably all part of the 'romantic' experience. Taking a candle, Kyungsoo set to work, finding all of the colorful little candle jars that were placed strategically all over the various surfaces in the cabin. The air soon starts smelling of not just firewood, but sandal wood, lavender, musk and various other scents of the candles. It takes the scent of cold away from their memory, and something like warmth returns to their limbs.

   He was startled by Baekhyun tapping at a key, furiously. It seems like he was done with the e-mail, but was suddenly facing a technical problem. "Baekhyun...?"

   "No signal," Baekhyun says, voice flat. "My wifi is connected but I can't see any signal. At all."

   Kyungsoo tries to reason this out. No power, no wifi, no prospect of getting rescued anytime soon. They still have their phones but one look confirms that they don't have signal either. Which left only one choice.

   As he pulls on the padded jacket, a beanie, muffler and mittens, Kyungsoo feels Baekhyun's gaze on him, questioning and distraught. "I'll walk to the reception building. There must be someone there. They can't have all left."

   Baekhyun tilts his head to the window, and sees nothing but a curtain of white flurry buffeted by the wind, and swaying trees. "You're walking in THAT? Are you insane?!"

   "It doesn't hurt to try," Kyungsoo shrugs.

   Even Baekhyun didn't have a retort for that. He looks pale as he says, "Wait, I'm coming with you."

   "No," Kyungsoo puts on his hiking boots, not looking at Baekhyun. "You wait here. If I don't come back in half an hour you... well, you make sure that you survive until the storm clears. Besides, I'm sure they must have left a security guard at the reception."

   Baekhyun looks away, whether in acceptance or anger Kyungsoo can't tell. He weighs the odds of taking an umbrella with him, and then discards the idea. Without much talk, they both edge to the front door and stop still. No power. Means their key card is useless. For a moment, they feel truly trapped.

   Kyungsoo flips to the side window, and pulls it open. 

   The air hits him full in the face, and he almost screams. Behind him Baekhyun gasps, "Shit, this is... crazy."

   Watching the storm tossed world through a closed window and an open window are two different sorts of experiences. The first left them with nothing more than a mild sense of urgency. The latter leaves them with unfathomable dread. Huffing in annoyance at his own reaction, Kyungsoo climbs on the window ledge. Strangely, the ground feels a lot closer than it should be. He jumps out, and lands in three feet of piled snow, before touching the actual ground underneath. When he stands up, he is submerged in the snow a few inches up to his knees. His face stings with the cold and the flakes hitting him full blast.

   Looking in, he smiles for Baekhyun's benefit. "It isn't too bad," he says, then realizes that Baekhyun can't hear him over the screaming wind. "IT'S OKAY! I'LL BE BACK SOON!" He also adds a thumbs up to make his point clear. It is cold as fuck, and his face is already numb. But through the white flurry and flakes settling on his eyelashes, he can see that Baekhyun relaxes, just a little.

   There was nothing else to be done. Except... what if...? Kyungsoo pauses, and looks back inside. In case he didn't make it back alive... He almost screams, "I LIKE YOU!" back to Baekhyun. Then cursing himself for such negative thoughts, he shakes his head at the ridiculousness of it all. To be stuck in a storm with Baekhyun of all people, he never even imagined such a thing. Taking a deep, cold breath, Kyungsoo starts forward. 

   Within moments, the cabin disappears, swallowed in the white curtain. For a panicked moment, Kyungsoo cant see anything around himself apart from the shadows of looming trees. According to the time, it was supposed to be a little over afternoon right now, but the dark clouds and the white flurry make the light of the afternoon look like evening. Trusting his memory of the way they came yesterday, he starts towards the general direction of the reception area. When he sees the silhouette of the first cabin, he smiles through the shivers. Wrapping his arms around himself, he stumbles forward still, now certain that he is on the right track.

   He counts the on coming cabins too, backwards from their number 14. Ten, eight, six, four. He doesn't know how much time has passed, but he's starting to lose the feeling in his feet a little. Trying not to panic, and encouraging himself for the sake of Baekhyun waiting in the cabin for him, he picks his pace. 

   The reception area comes in the view almost suddenly. The structure is bigger than the cabins, almost like a hotel. He can see privet rooms on the first floor. Heart soaring at the success, Kyungsoo all but runs to the entrance.

   And skids to a halt. There is a notice pasted on the inside of the glass door. Even through the flakes burdening his eyelashes, he can read the words.

  _"The establishment is closed until further notice."_

   No matter. There must be someone left behind to guard the large establishment. _Anyone_.

   He slaps his hands against the glass door continually, screaming at the top of his lungs. "HELP! IS ANYONE HERE! PLEASE, WE NEED HELP!"

   No one answers. He can't even see anyone inside. If anyone was still living, surely they would have lighted up the candles too, got the fire going. If...

   "No! I'm not giving up!" Kyungsoo starts kicking at the wooden base of the door, furious enough to break it. "HEEEEELPPPP! HEEELPPP!" He screams and screams, kicks and kicks. It takes him a split second to know that the additional wetness on his face isn't flurry, but his frustrated tears.

   He is sobbing by the time another enormous gust strikes him, filled with flying snow and blade-like flakes. He hisses through his teeth, sure that his skin was going to split open. He looks around. There are no cars. No sleighs. No anything that should be in a damn recreational facility for the winters. Even if it was, he knew they wouldn't leave it all lying out here for him to benefit from.

   Feeling helpless at the failure, he decides to return. Already, a lot of time has passed. He didn't delude himself into thinking that Baekhyun could be worried for him. But still, Baekhyun was human and could get scared if he didn't go back soon. Steeling himself for the return journey, he stepped away form the sheltering roof of the reception area, and into the storm again.

   He hears a sound, half-way through his trek, that seems familiar. It's a voice that he heard recently - in fact, this morning. As soon as he realizes what it is, something big and heavy falls against his back, knocking him out cold.

 

BAEKHYUN starts pacing frantically when the clock on the log cabin wall informs him that it is already half an hour, plus three minutes. Kyungsoo should be back by now.

   But he _isn't._

   Dreading all sorts of disasters that could befall Kyungsoo in this storm, Baekhyun screams in frustration. "I should've gone with him!" 

   Two was better than one, especially in a situation as dire as this. He should've pressed the matter, but somehow, in the light of the events last night, Baekhyun felt that letting Kyungsoo do what he wants was probably the only way to win his good favor again. As all of his plans regarding Kyungsoo were, it wasn't a surprise this one turned out to be just as bad.

   When more than forty-five minutes pass, Baekhyun settles next to the window that allows a hindered, but somewhat clear view of the lane where Kyungsoo had disappeared. Given the tough situation outside, it was possible that Kyungsoo had miscalculated the time. It was also possible that Kyungsoo was right and have found someone to help in the reception building. That thought makes him smile at least.

   "Once we get out of here," Baekhyun vows to himself, grinning despite the worry, "I'll kill you, Chanyeol."

   The hour passes away. Baekhyun starts biting his lips in worry, hard enough to bruise.

   If Kyungsoo have found help, it was sensible to wait for a while. Whatever they were doing to try to get them out of here, it was bound to take time. In his mind's eye he imagines Kyungsoo, and a man in his mid-thirties, trying to collect food, perishables, more blankets, or even trying to put the landline in the reception to good use and contact someone for help. But in his heart, he feels the unnamable terror. He can't help but feel that something other than rescue work is keeping Kyungsoo away. Suddenly, the white world outside seems like a place where there can be monsters, wolves, mountain lions and worst things. Suddenly, the mid-thirties security guard seems like a potential serial killer or rapist, what with Kyungsoo being so cute and beautiful. Suddenly, a lot of things seem unseemly.

   Swallowing his fears for just a bit more, Baekhyun sighs. His eyes never leaving the window. 

   Another twenty minutes later, he realizes that the white world outside was getting darker. It was either because the time was flying away, or because another group of dark clouds was forming overhead. Whatever it may be, Baekhyun knew that it was the time to go after Kyungsoo. Despite their differences (note: his inability to become Kyungsoo's friend the proper way) he still wants the better things for the two of them. The thought of losing Kyungsoo to such a violent storm is painful.

   Clothing himself in the similar fashion to Kyungsoo, he also takes the window to get out. The snow is piled higher than the last time. He can see that the door of their cabin is nearly all blocked with the slanting flurry piling more snow. Ignoring the cabin getting caged in, he turns himself to the direction of the lane.

   Everything is white. The lane looks neat, with cabins sticking out around it like strawberries poking out of frothy cream shake. His eyes find the gouged pathway, the only proof that Kyungsoo went this way. He follows the path, making more trenches in the snow in his wake. 

   It's freezing, and he marvels that Kyungsoo have been out here for so long. "No," he tells himself firmly. "He's probably sitting in the reception building in front of a fire, drinking tea and chatting away. The bastard."

   As soon as he thinks it, though, he sees something other than the cabins on the lane. It seems like in the storm during the night, another tree fell here. It was a tall pine, fallen sideways, a stark slash of branches across the snow covered ground. As he comes closer, he notices things that seem off. For a tree that fell last night, this one was definitely not buried in the snow as it should be. In fact, it looks fresh and stark against the gouges marking Kyungsoo's passage. It was more proof that it fell after Kyungsoo was past it. Relieved, Baekhyun tries to round the tree and find the gouges left by Kyungsoo again. They were fading fast due to the oncoming snow as well as the wind, smoothing it over with new bags of flurry. 

   That's when he spots more gouges a few feet apart. He follows them with his eyes, and could see the distant mound of reception building. These new gouges stop just short of the place where the tree fell.

   "Maybe he came back and went around it," Baekhyun muses to himself. But he was sure he hadn't seen anyone coming back on his way here, neither had he seen any new gouge marks.

   Slowly, he moves to the place where these new marks disappear at the base of the fallen tree. And spots a leg.

   A scream tears out of him, so animalistic he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or dead. He runs to the tree, and falls on his knee. His weight making deep bowls in the soft piles of snow.

   It's Kyungsoo, face down on the snow. Across his back, the tree lies vertically, crushing half of his right leg and hips and the small of his back. His grey padding and black beanie are covered in snow, blending in so well that it was impossible Baekhyun found him at all.

   Worst than it all, is the dark red substance spread near Kyungsoo's leg. It seems dangerous and intimidating. Eyes leaking tears, Baekhyun finds Kyungsoo's face, checking for a sign of life as he cleans it off. He feels just a brush of Kyungsoo's troubled breathing on his gloved fingers. But it's enough.

   "KYUNGSOO! I'M HERE!" Baekhyun starts digging in the snow, making space so that he can get Kyungsoo out from under the tree. "KYUNGSOO!"

   In response, Kyungsoo groans, so low that Baekhyun is sure he dreamed it. Working fast, he makes the space enough to slide Kyungsoo out of the tree. As soon as he does though, the red substance spreads, painting the snow in the wake of Kyungsoo leg. Kyungsoo, too, hisses in pain.

   Feeling scared that he was going to fail saving Kyungsoo, and guilty that he wasted time imagining scenarios while Kyungsoo was bleeding to death under a fallen tree, Baekhyun picks Kyungsoo up. At first, he does it bridal style, but that hurt's Kyungsoo more as evidenced by his soft scream. Then he piggy backs him, with nothing more than Kyungsoo holding on with one arm lightly. Then... he starts running.

 

GETTING Kyungsoo inside through the window is the toughest part. Baekhyun doesn't know the extent of Kyungsoo's injury yet, and somehow just throwing him inside feels wrong. So he sits Kyungsoo down on the ground, climbs in first, then drags him in. This is also difficult, because by now, Kyungsoo is unconscious and heavy. 

   Thankfully, there's fire. He drags Kyungsoo in front of it, trying to ignore the way the beige carpet under them gets ruined - he sees something else on it too, something other than mud. 

   For several breaths, all he can do is shiver, warming himself and giving Kyungsoo a chance to warm up too. He tries not to think about what this means. It's obvious Kyungsoo failed to get help, which meant they really were alone here. It was also obvious that Kyungsoo was severely injured, ignoring the dark stains on the carpet wouldn't make him better.

   He is scared of blood though. It makes him nauseous. It makes him faint.

   Beside him, Kyungsoo whimpers softly.

   He is going to die at this rate.

   Baekhyun stands up, fast, and feels his head spin, just a little. Blood or not - he was not going to let Kyungsoo die!

   He runs into the kitchen, pulling cabinets open. The sight of many canned food products is hopeful - his stomach grumbles loudly, reminding him that he still haven't had breakfast. Ignoring the food, he continues looking through the cabinets; and finally finds a first aid kit underneath the sink.

   Running back to Kyungsoo, he fumbles with getting the kit open, then taking Kyungsoo's heavy padding off. Once it's off though, Baekhyun nearly screams. Kyungsoo's leg is bent, fractured. But thankfully, the blood is only because of scrapes. He uses the small knife inside the kit to tear open Kyungsoo's pants, almost injuring him with his trembling hands.

    _Don't breathe,_ he reminds himself. _Don't smell the blood._ Still, stars dance in front of his eyes, world spinning a bit.

   He doesn't know anything about first aid. So he goes through the motions. Cleaning up the scrapes with the antiseptic like liquid, he tries to wrap the bandages around Kyungsoo's leg. But as he lifts it up, Kyungsoo groans in pain, even though he's under. Trying to be gentle, he gets the bandages around the largest scrape of all.

   He has to examine Kyungsoo's back still. But he hopes it isn't as bad as the leg. Once he is satisfied with his work, he turns Kyungsoo around, pushing up his shirt. And sighs in relief. There are no scrapes, nor any bruising. Small miracle, considering the size and weight of the pine that fell on top of him. It seems like Kyungsoo's leg took the worst of it.

   He stops long enough to check Kyungsoo's temperature. He feels better, not frozen anymore. And then Baekhyun runs to the kitchen, vomiting his guts into the sink. His vision flickers as he turns the tap, trying to wash his hands off of the blood. A faint trickle of cold water splutters out. He hurriedly washes his hands, then grabs a bowl, filling it up. Now that there was no power, there wasn't going to be any hot water either. Which meant it wouldn't take long for the water pipes to freeze. He has to save the water while it still ran.

   He finds all sorts of containers for water and keeps preserving as much as he can. Soon enough, the kitchen surfaces are filled with bowls, and cauldrons of water. He thinks about filling up plates, then thinks better of it.

   "Food! We need food!"

   The next hour is spent in making a makeshift bed for Kyungsoo, near enough to the fire, but with enough space that allowed him to cook. He finds a portable grill in one of the cabinets, probably something for the tenants if they wanted to barbeque during the hiking trip. He uses the tongs to transfer some of the firewood to the grill, then cooks eggs, bacon and toast. 

   He moves closer to Kyungsoo, checking his temperature again. It's not normal. Looking closer, he realizes that Kyungsoo is actually sweating. "No," he whispers. "Don't do this, man. This isn't supposed to be like this!"

   He tries to wake him up. Unsuccessfully. Even though Kyungsoo can hear him, he doesn't look strong enough to break through whatever fevered haze he is in. Instead, Baekhyun tries to feed him eggs. Kyungsoo manages to take a few bites. Then nothing.

   After the meal, Baekhyun opens up a window, long enough to fill a bowl with snow. Melting the snow into water, making sure it was still cold, he started doing the only thing he could to try to break Kyungsoo's fever. Using the remains of Kyungsoo's pants from earlier, he makes wet folds, applying them to Kyungsoo's forehead. It's a hard task. But even so, Baekhyun finds himself smiling as he dutifully presses the wet cloth.

   Like this, without his habitual scowl, Kyungsoo is almost beautiful to look at. It isn't that he was bad looking to begin with. Baekhyun knows for a fact that a large number of female population of their college found Kyungsoo handsome and mysterious. He also knows that there are some guys too, who want to get close to Kyungsoo romantically.

   Now that he thinks about it, Baekhyun wasn't sure he ever saw Kyungsoo dating anyone. Ever since they started living in the apartment together, Kyungsoo has been suspiciously single. He once heard Chanyeol say that Kyungsoo was romantic at heart, that he probably already had someone he loved. Thinking about it now, Baekhyun feels a stab of jealousy. Whoever it is that Kyungsoo loves, must be the luckiest person in the world. He would know, he has been trying to gain Kyungsoo's favor for a whole year (albeit using abhorrent methods) and still isn't close to success.

   Smiling down at Kyungsoo, he says, "I hope this counts as an apology. I'm saving you from possible pneumonia. I hope this makes us friends."

   Kyungsoo stirs, softly sighing. The gesture is so soft and warm that Baekhyun grins wide. He tries to remember the last time he saw Kyungsoo sleeping like this. He realizes that he hasn't ever seen Kyungsoo sleep in the entire year as his apartment mate. He likes this soft side, it makes Kyungsoo almost... human.

   "Get better soon," Baekhyun whispers, suddenly terrified. Even though he has tried his best, the fear that he is going to lose Kyungsoo still, then die here alone, plagues him. "I mean it, Kyungsoo. Please." _It is scary enough already._

WHEN Kyungsoo wakes up, the first thing he feels is pain, which isn't surprising. He was in pain even as he slept. He doesn't open his eyes at once, still certain that he is buried under that tree. He almost dreamt that Baekhyun came to save him. The mere thought is funny. 

   But it feels too warm. He remembers the tree and the snow storm, it shouldn't be this warm. Hesitating, he opens his eyes, and sees a log ceiling. His eyes adjust to the soft flickering golden light - the fireplace. Turning his head to the direction of the fire, he blinks at the sudden brightness. 

   He is back in the cabin. His brain catches up to the information. He is in front of the fire. He is alive. Although, it still feels like he's crushed under a tree. He can feel a searing bruise blossoming on his back by now, his hip bone is definitely dislocated, judging from the pain. And his leg. He is certain he is legless now. The tree broke it off of him completely. He can feel the ghost-pain still, in the place where his leg should be.

   He inhales, gasping at the sting of pain in his rib cage. I can't die here! He is alive, and he hasn't accomplished anything yet. He has to graduate, get a job, support his family. He has to confess to Baekhyun, even if he will be laughed at. He almost died today (yesterday?) and the one thing he was going to regret the most was his failure to save Baekhyun and tell him of his true feelings.

   But he was here, against all odds. _Alive. How?_

   Finally, he looks down at himself. And at the tree half sleeping on him. 

   It's Baekhyun. Asleep with his head on Kyungsoo's stomach, arm around his chest. He is clutching a cloth in his fist, and looks like he fell asleep in the middle of some important task.

   "It wasn't a dream," Kyungsoo whispers, suddenly overwhelmed. "He came after me."

   Perhaps it's his voice, or maybe it's the little movement he makes, it wakes Baekhyun with a start. He sits up, blinking rapidly and searching for something with his other hand. A bowl of water. And then his eyes fully open, taking in Kyungsoo.

   "Oh! You're awake!"

   It's hard enough for Kyungsoo to register the obvious relief on Baekhyun's face, but even harder as Baekhyun nearly breaks another rib trying to hug him. "Ouch," he grits out.

   Jerking back, Baekhyun stammers, "Oh shit, did I hurt you? Are you in pain? Is it bleeding anywhere else? How about your head? Is it spinning? Are you hungry? Kyungsoo, can you hear me?"

   Kyungsoo blinks, trying to make sense of the  flood coming out of Baekhyun's mouth. He knows for a fact that Baekhyun only gets rambly when he is scared. That, in conjunction with his pain makes Kyungsoo realize that things were close. If it wasn't for Baekhyun's timely rescue, he would have died.

   Trying to find his voice, he replies to each of Baekhyun's question. "No, you didn't hurt me. It hurts still but I don't think I'm bleeding. My head feels heavy. What's for dinner?"

   Baekhyun stills; then smiles. It's that same, thousand watt smile that Kyungsoo at once hates and loves. It's the smile Baekhyun gets moments before he is about to make fun of Kyungsoo, or make a joke. It's the smile he hides every time Kyungsoo gets in a punch, pinch or slap. This time, though, the smile is because of genuine relief.

   "It's 4 in the morning. So breakfast," he says, getting up and moving away from Kyungsoo's line of sight. "We have eggs, and bread that is going to expire in a few days unless we finish it up."

   That sounds delicious. Kyungsoo tries to sit up, and hisses in pain. There's something wrong with his back. It feels swollen, and scorched. Out of the line of his sight, Baekhyun is moving around in the kitchen, pots and pans clank, making some human noise compared to the storm outside. Even though they have candles inside, the small patch of outer world that Kyungsoo sees is nothing but a whirl of white flakes. _Just how long has it already been?_

   Baekhyun returns to the fire, kneeling next to small rectangular grill, and starts making food. Its such a strange sight to see; Baekhyun doing chores. He never does anything in their communal apartment, most of the times when he cleans his own room the rest of them feel a sense of gratitude towards the deity. But most of the time, Baekhyun prefers lazing about or playing loud video games. Now, as he sits by the grill-come-stove, he is so intensely focused on his work, so serious, that Kyungsoo wonders if he is suffering from a concussion, or a delusion. 

   He almost comments on it, but what comes out of his mouth is this: "Thank you for saving me, Baekhyun."

   It's unexpected to Baekhyun too, for he startles, looking up from his work. Blinking,  he licks his lips. Kyungsoo is very familiar with that gesture as well, Baekhyun licks his lips whenever he is nervous. "Well... I'm sure you'd have done the same for me."

   That is true. Kyungsoo would save Baekhyun unconditionally. _But why Baekhyun had saved him?_ That is a mystery still. Kyungsoo knows it will be rude to demand the reason behind Baekhyun's daring rescue. Now that he can see clearly, he becomes aware of his torn clothes and bloody rags discarded in a pile next to the fireplace. His breath leaves him in a painful whoosh. "I was bleeding."

   "Yeah," Baekhyun says, picture of calm but his hands shake a bit. "But it wasn't a big wound. I think snow cushioned you well. I'm not sure about bruises though."

   Kyungsoo feels a rush of gratitude and fierce affection for Baekhyun just then. "You hate blood."

   Shrugging, Baekhyun tries to smile. "It was that or let you die." With a strained frown he adds, "Couldn't really do the second, not after causing you so much trouble already,"

   Of course. Their argument before they went to bed, before the storm. Kyungsoo hasn't forgotten the hurt he felt, but this more than makes up for it. "Baekhyun, it's all in the past now. Though, I'd still like an explanation. Not at this instant. But someday."

   In answer, Baekhyun finishes whatever he was cooking up and presents Kyungsoo with a plate of agreeable looking roasted sandwiches and grill-fried eggs, onions and tomatoes. "I think I'll tell you now."

   Taking the plate, Kyungsoo tries not to pounce on the food, it smells delicious. Instead, curiosity keeps his eyes on Baekhyun, who is now making another set for himself.

   "About the beer, I thought Chanyeol was kidding. Whoever heard of a beer allergy you know?"

   "Not just beer," Kyungsoo says, taking the first bite. His eyes widening. "This is good."

   "So there's more allergies I should be worried about?"

   "Fizzy stuff, alcohol, soft drinks, anything really," Kyungsoo explains, and its worth the shock on Baekhyun's face. Its heartbreaking that while he knows so much about Baekhyun, Baekhyun hardly knows him. "I get stomach cramps and cant eat anything for hours without vomiting my guts out."

   "I... I really am sorry about that. As for the other things, well, the first time I was angry. I thought you'd remember me but you walked right past, and I tripped you without even thinking. I hadn't meant for your glasses to break, really."

   "You wanted my face to break then?"

   "It's not like that, I'm telling you. And about the cake, well... that's simple enough. I tripped."

   Kyungsoo puts his fork down, slowly. _Tripped_. It was so simple, so ingenuine, it was a shock Kyungsoo had never considered it. "Right."

   "It's true! You didn't even stop to listen and stormed out. If I really wanted to hurt you, I would have thrown the cake alone. Why would I fall with it?"

   "I didn't see you fall. I just remembered that instead of working on my assignment, I spent four hours trying to bake and decorate a cake for you. It was my own effort, I thought maybe this would be enough to make us friends. And in the instant I saw it flying, I just... I couldn't take it anymore."

   Baekhyun is done with making his own plate. He sidles closer to Kyungsoo's sofa-bed. He sits on the floor leaning his back on it, looking up at Kyungsoo, even though most of Kyungsoo's face is cast in half light of the fireplace. "I'm sorry, again. I tried to call you back but you wouldn't come out of the room or respond to anything I said. I think that's when you really started hating me, right?"

   "I don't hate you, Baekhyun." Kyungsoo could laugh. If only Baekhyun knew exactly what his feeling for him are. "I just find you annoying. Although, I still can't think of why you would sell me out like a common whore."

   Now, even in the dim light, Kyungsoo sees Baekhyun's ears turn pink. "That was... on purpose, at first. I was concerned for you."

   Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. "So you gave my number out to everyone so they can ring me up for a booty call because you were concerned for me?"

   "I mean... you hardly go out! The times I've seen girls ask you, you always reject them. Chanyeol think you already have someone you love, but I think you're shy. I was just thinking that maybe if someone asked you out, you'll be happy and less sullen."

   Kyungsoo sighs. "I kept rejecting the offers because dating isn't the priority for me right now. My family is nearly broke, Baekhyun. I can't afford distractions. As for what Chanyeol said... well, he's right. I'm already in love with someone."

   At this Baekhyun gasps, then blinks. He looks genuinely shocked, and Kyungsoo can't tell if its because he just told him about his family's financial crisis or because of his admission of being in love. "Oh. That's... great. Thank goodness that is in the past. I'm sure most of everyone has already given up by now."

   Kyungsoo looks away. "You remember that time when somebody shattered our living room window in the middle of the night with a stone?" Baekhyun nods, remembering. "That was one of those people you gave my number to. Chanyeol tried to run off whoever he can, but they know where I live. They follow me home. Haven't you been wondering why I changed my job from the pizza joint to the university café?"

   Baekhyun had been wondering. But he just guessed that Kyungsoo got tired of commuting so far each day. "You have stalkers now!"

   "Thanks for telling everyone I was available to fuck. These words precisely. Do you know everyone, even some of the teachers, think I'm a part-time hooker?"

   Baekhyun looks away. Now he knows why Chanyeol had nearly blown up his head when he told him about his little joke. Now he knows why Jongin stopped laughing at his pranks. "I had no idea... Chanyeol never said..."

   "Not even a surprise anymore. Nothing matters to you unless its directly related to you somehow." Kyungsoo hadn't meant to be bitter, but he knows how hard it was to go out each day and work and study and get through exams. Now that he is finally letting the load off his chest, he can't seem to stop. "Chanyeol? Well, of course he didn't tell you. I wasn't really in the mood of giving you more ammunition to use to humiliate me."

   "I... I'm truly sorry, Kyungsoo. I was... I was having fun but you..." He looks so sincere, so earnest, so beautiful that Kyungsoo can't look away. "Tell me. What can I do to make this better?"

   "You don't have to do anything," Kyungsoo says evasive. His appetite is gone, along with his anger. Hi hipbone is smarting now, he wants to lay back down. "You've saved my life. I think we're even. As for this vacation, well, let's not disappoint Chanyeol at least. Let's forget it all."

   Baekhyun swallows. He looks miserable, and Kyungsoo feels sick for a moment. He hates that miserable look on Baekhyun's face. "Yes. Let's just start over. Friends?" he hold out his hand, eyes still miserable but lips cracking in a wide smile.

   Kyungsoo takes his hand. "Friends."

   Baekhyun chuckles. "Oh, man. You have no idea how long I've wanted this."

   "Should've tried using words then."

   "Probably should have." 

   They exchange a brief glance and a smile. It feels peaceful, despite the storm outside. But what has happened, what has been lost already still hangs between them.

   "Can you get me my bag? I think I have painkillers in there. I should take one, it's hurting."

   Baekhyun scrambled for the bedroom, probably eager to help Kyungsoo out of his guilt. Kyungsoo watches him leave, trying not to smile. But it's hard not to. Not that he wants to guilt Baekhyun into doing things, but this is a nice change in pace. Baekhyun trying to be nice.

   As for his own feelings, he can't ever go there now. They're friends. They will remain friends until they graduated and moved on with their respective lives. And that was that.

  

BAEKHYUN watches Kyungsoo sleep after taking the painkiller. He knew he hurt Kyungsoo but he never imagined the extent of that hurt. He is so ashamed of himself, of his stupid jokes. Now that he knows, its easy to look back at various incidents that he took for granted. The fact that Chanyeol was using a stern tone with him these days, and threatening with kicking him out over every little argument. The fact that Kyungsoo always left for university, work, or anything else, along with Jongin. The fact that Kyungsoo has been distracted and jumpy at odd things and sudden sounds. The fact that he has seen teachers trying to get into Kyungsoo's personal space for no reason.

   "I'm sorry," he whispers, trying not to cry at his own stupidity. "I'm going to fix this, Kyungsoo. I promise."

   How he will do that? He didn't know. But he will die trying. He owed Kyungsoo that much at least.

   On the bright side, they were friends now. This makes him smile. He thinks of all the cool things he wants to tell Kyungsoo, to experience with Kyungsoo, and he finds peace in the hope that blossoms. They were stuck in a storm, they were going to be here for a while. Heck, considering their luck they might even die of hypothermia. But at least, they were together.

   Almost a few hours later, Baekhyun jerks up. He had fallen asleep, half pressed into the sofa, head resting near Kyungsoo's waits. He blinks, looking around. The fire is dying. Getting up, he surveys the pile of firewood critically. They have enough for a week, but still, he takes no more than two logs at a time. Once the flame is coaxed back to life, he checks on Kyungsoo and realizes that's why he woke up. Kyungsoo is sweating, gasping. There's a whistling sound to his breaths, and a rattle in his chest as he inhales and exhales. A fever and a cold. Or worse. But Baekhyun dares not to think of that. He darts back to the kitchen and gets a bottle of water and finds herbal tea. 

   "Kyungsoo?" he tries to wake him up after he has a pot of tea brewed. "Kyungsoo, you need to drink this. Come on."

   Whimpering, Kyungsoo slowly open his eyes. "Baek...hyun?"

   "Yes, I'm here. I have tea. You need to drink. It's going to make your throat feel better... and..."

   "C-Cold..."

   "Yes, I think you have a cold too. That's why I..."

   "I'm... c-cold..." Kyungsoo rattles, teeth chattering.

   Baekhyun freezes. Kyungsoo was obviously sweating. But if he was still cold then... No! "I'll get more blankets. Wait."

   He finds some in the cabinet and takes all of them outside. After he wraps two of the blankets on top of Kyungsoo's already double covering, and then he pushes the sofa a bit, getting it closer to the fire but still at a safe distance to avoid a fire.

   It takes a few moments until Kyungsoo's chattering teeth subsides to soft quivers. He hugs himself under the four layers of blankets. His eyes open a crack, looking at Baekhyun, dazed.

   "Are you feeling better?" he asks, using a whispered voice as if speaking aloud will cause Kyungsoo to shiver again. "Can I get you something else? Tea?"

   "T-Tea..." Kyungsoo agrees.

   And so Baekhyun helps Kyungsoo up, propping him on a lot of cushions. Then he spoon-feeds him tea. Kyungsoo blinks at him lazily. His rattling chest sounds awful, but Baekhyun never breaks concentration. Right now, the most important thing is to keep Kyungsoo warm. Everything else will sort itself out.

   "Hey?" 

   Baekhyun is surprised as Kyungsoo catches his attention, smiling softly. "It's just a fever. Stop worrying."

   "I'm not... I just..."

   "You might be a self-centered bastard but I know you Byun Baekhyun," Kyungsoo's voice is soft, slightly scratchy, a sign of an oncoming disease. Cough. "You sit rigidly and bite your tongue when you are worried."

   Baekhyun nearly drops the teacup in surprise. It's true. That's exactly what he does when he is scared or worried. His bones turn to stone and he has to keep his tongue between his teeth in order to deter the screams. "How can you know...?"

   "I've been your roommate for an year," Kyungsoo sighs, head falling down on the cushions. "It's enough time to get to know these sort of things about your roommates."

   And here is Baekhyun, who knows almost nothing about Kyungsoo apparently. He doesn't know that Kyungsoo's family is in financial crises, that Kyungsoo is working not just to pay his tuition but also to send money back home, or that Kyungsoo has stalkers. Shame, again, overwhelms him. "I'm just worried I wouldn't be of much help if you get worse. So you cant, okay. You have to stay strong." 

   "I will. Now stop worrying. My body hurts much less now, so that's progress. But my head is killing me."

   "Should I massage it?"

   He thinks that Kyungsoo will say, yes, massage it. Instead, a look of pure horror crosses Kyungsoo's expression, followed by a startling blush. Baekhyun can't figure it out, but by the time he opens his mouth to ask, Kyungsoo slips down into the laying position again, muttering, "I just need some sleep is all."

   "Okay. If you say so. Just do you know, I'm a _really_ good masseur."

   Kyungsoo coughs, and somehow it sounds more like a choke than the effect of the cold.  "You should get some sleep too."

   "I was going to do that."

   As Baekhyun drags another piece of blanket and a sheet for himself out, setting up his bed right under Kyungsoo's sofa, he can't help but smile. Already, they are falling into a rhythm. He feels rather sad that if they had managed to become friends before, they could be having this sort of banter forever. Still, better late than never.

 

KYUNGSOO wakes up in a daze. The cold is unbearable, even more so now than it was before. Looking around, it's easy to see the cause of it. The fire place is empty. Some of the candles have died because of the wind hissing inside through the gap in the door and a slightly open window.

   Baekhyun is curled up under a thin blanket, breath fogging around his face in time with his breathing. At this rate, Baekhyun will catch a cold too. He calls out, "Baekhyun! _Baekhyun!"_ He calls out several times, aloud, coughing a few times too, but Baekhyun remains sleeping.

   Getting up in a sitting position, Kyungsoo is sure he can't walk on his fractured leg. But his left leg is intact. He gets out of the blanket, putting his good leg down. Cold hits his bare legs and he tries to bear it.

   Leaning down, his hand finally reaches Baekhyun. "Hey, Baekhyun! Wake up!" Baekhyun stirs under the covers, mumbling incoherently. Kyungsoo sighs fondly. It's clear Baekhyun is tired, but anymore time without a fire and they both might die. "BAEKHYUN, WAKE UP GODDA- AAAH!"

   His butt slips off the sofa, his good leg suddenly twisting due to pins. He tries to hold on to something but his bad leg follows, movement jolting his entire being with pain. He falls on top of Baekhyun, but not before he feels his broken leg collide with the carpeted floor. His body seizes with the intensity of hurt.

   Baekhyun leaps out of his sheets, and grabs Kyungsoo almost unconsciously. "Kyungsoo what even-" His eyes register the sight of Kyungsoo flat on the floor, half on top of him. "What are you doing moving? Idiot, your leg is broken!"

   Kyungsoo opens his mouth to explain, but only an excruciating hiss escapes him. Baekhyun picks him up and gets him back up on the sofa.

   "Why's is it so..." Baekhyun gasps, and finally realizes that the fire place is empty.

   Kyungsoo sighs too, leaning back without moving much, every single movement is a stab of pain. His bare legs are cold and numb. A look to the window reveals nothing. He can hear the wind, but he can't see anything anymore.

   Baekhyun finally manages to light up a log. Currently, he is looking at the match box. His expression is tight and closed off.

   It takes several moments for the cabin to become bearable again, even though, their breaths still form fog clouds in front of them. They don't know how long they slept that the cabin had time to become so freezing.

   Baekhyun silently gets up and moves towards the window. Kyungsoo can't see him, but he hears Baekhyun's sudden gasp.

   "What is it?"

   Baekhyun doesn't answer. Kyungsoo turns a little bit, and sees only Baekhyun's back, tensed. Then his eyes follow where Baekhyun is looking. The window, and the darkness outside.

   "Baek-?"

   "We're buried." 

   Kyungsoo stills. He looks at the window again. His soul shivers. _Oh_. It's not that the world outside is dark. Its that they cannot see it anymore. Because of the snow storm. Because they _are_ buried. If not completely, then enough that they can't look outside the window anymore.

   Kyungsoo tries to calm down, to say something that will give them both courage. But nothing occurs to him, and pain is distracting enough. "Baekhyun, come here." he says, in the end.

   Baekhyun turns back around, masking his fear but not before Kyungsoo sees it. Slowly, he shuffles closer, and then sits next to Kyungsoo.

   "Chanyeol will not leave us here," Kyungsoo says softly. "He is probably trying to get to us. We just have to hold on."

   Baekhyun doesn't say anything for a long moment. Then, he says, "I'm sorry for not waking up. Did you get hurt again?"

   Kyungsoo feels like his leg is roasting in fire, apart from the rest of his body that is shivering. Pain is a feeling that he should be used to by now, but he isn't and it's damn near unbearable. "Talk. About anything. Distract me."

   Baekhyun blinks, and then sees Kyungsoo's gritted teeth against the pain, and launches into a random tale about the summer festival at their school. Kyungsoo wasn't able to participate because of his old job, and Baekhyun took his time giving Kyungsoo a blow by blow review of the events. Kyungsoo leans his head back, almost smiling. Like this, with Baekhyun's lovely voice telling him a story, he can slip into a peaceful death. It will be so easy, so beautiful.

   Baekhyun leans back too, so that their heads rest together, hair touching, cheeks sharing heat. 

   "You know, I always wondered why you had to be so fucking loud all the time," Kyungsoo remarks after Baekhyun finished telling about his dramatic conclusion of the festival with a bungee jumping event. "It's like you have to make sure everyone hears you. Whether they want it or not."

   Baekhyun sits silently for a while. Then: "And I always wondered why you had to be so fucking silent. It's like you have to make everyone forget you. Whether they want it or not."

   Kyungsoo doesn't have anything to say to that, but then he smiles. "Conclusion. We're polar opposites."

   Baekhyun smiles too. "Hey, opposite attracts. Who knows, our repellent past was probably just a prequel to our er... attractive days together."

   Kyungsoo turns his head to look at Baekhyun, to tell him he's wrong on so many levels, grammar being just one... and regrets.

   Baekhyun is right there. _Too close._ And Kyungsoo's head is swimming in pain and meds.

  Baekhyun blinks, turning to him too at his sudden silence. Their eyes meet, and time comes to a shuddering halt.

   Kyungsoo doesn't breathe. He doesn't even blink. A part of him is earnest, wanting to savor this moment for as long as he can. A second part of him is terrified because they are staring, and it's been too long already. Then there's another part of him, a secret part, that notices through the haze of pain and longing, as Baekhyun's eyes darken in a smidgen of interest, his throat bobbing as he swallows.

   But he can't act on his desire, no matter how urgently it bothered him. He looks away first.

   Baekhyun does too, but he is breathing too loudly in the sudden and inexplicable silence.

   "I'm hungry again," Kyungsoo whispers.

   Baekhyun chuckles. "Me too."

 

ANOTHER day dawns. 

   Baekhyun wakes up first this time. He smiles at the faint light flickering in the fireplace then and down at Kyungsoo, sleeping peacefully with soft breaths devoid of the rattling sounds. Under the covers, Kyungsoo's leg is lumped in a twist, placed on a cushion to relieve some of hi pain. He winces in sympathy, knowing that Kyungsoo is putting up a face even if he is hurt. 

   It was an aspect of Kyungsoo's personality that he is slightly aware of, but now can see clearly. It leaves him bothered. Kyungsoo is more, more than anything he ever imagined. He is overwhelmed by his kindness and his bravery. Baekhyun thinks back to the moment they shared earlier this morning. His heart throbs in an inexplicable wonder. He could have sworn he saw something like... _affection_ in Kyungsoo's eyes. It was such an astounding emotion, magnified into something else entirely in Kyungsoo's extremely expressive eyes. Baekhyun couldn't breathe, suddenly caught in a spell.

    _What was that?_ He thinks about it, hard. Furthermore, he thinks about his own reaction, his suddenly dry throat, his thudding heart. For a moment, he had wanted to just close the small distance between them _and._.. He stands up, blankets falling in his feet. He thumps a fist on his chest, suddenly scared of his own blood pooling around his head. 

   Looking at everything but Kyungsoo, he retreats close to the fire. _What's going on?_ He didn't know why, but for a minute, he was certain Kyungsoo only hated him. While they are friends now, the speed in which Kyungsoo's supposed hate turned into something warm is astounding. _Or is this just one of those things I'm not good at? Has he always been looking at me like that?_

   Even as he questions himself, the answer presents itself in small bubble bursts of memories. Kyungsoo has always been watching him. Whether it's the jokes, or tough times, or nightmares, or late night snacks in the fridge with his name on it, Kyungsoo's always been there. Before, Baekhyun thought that it was Kyungsoo's personality really, being observant and quiet and caring for everyone without any cause. Now, he isn't sure. _Have I ever seen Kyungsoo comforting anyone else after a nightmare with hot coco?_ He hasn't. In fact, it's curious how Kyungsoo only seem to be coincidentally awake right after Baekhyun had a nightmare.

   Against his will, he turns around and watches Kyungsoo again. Suddenly, he is watching him in a completely new light. He remembers the serious yet desperate expression on Kyungsoo's face when he admitted to being in love with someone.

    _Could it be me?_

   As soon as he thinks it, he has to stifle his laughter. There is no way Kyungsoo could ever want him after all the misery he had caused. No way. And yet, he lets himself imagine, for a moment. _What would it be like to be loved by someone like Kyungsoo?_

   His mind doesn't provide him an answer, but his body does. Once again, his heart pounds, heat pools around his body, his face, his groin and a dizzying curiosity overwhelm him. He knows, it would be an honor. But more importantly, he knows exactly how much his heart and his body agreed with such an arrangement. His mind, on the contrary, refuses to believe that Kyungsoo could ever want him.

   He suddenly recalls his earlier comment about their opposite personalities attracting to each other, and ducks his head, blushing.

   Kyungsoo stirs in his sleep, and slowly wakes up.

   Baekhyun composes himself but his cheeks and ears are still red. If Kyungsoo noticed, he will just say it's because of the cold.

   Kyungsoo stretches and then goes rigid. "Oh, God I smell like the dead."

  Baekhyun laughs. "Yeah, I wasn't able to get all of the blood off your skin. What should we do?"

   Kyungsoo eyes the cheerful fire. "A bath. If you can manage it."

   For another dizzying moment, Baekhyun imagines that Kyungsoo is actually asking him to give him a bath. His mouth parts, combined with his recent interest in Kyungsoo, and his face heats up even more. But then he sees Kyungsoo sitting up carefully and removing his jacket by himself.

   He snaps to action. He goes to the bedroom and stops short, crowing in joy. "Yes!"

   Curious, Kyungsoo turns around too. A smile blinds his face.

   They realize that while the front of the cabin is now buried, probably because of the direction of the wind, they can still see the light through the windows in the bedroom, which is behind the sitting room, and opposite to the storm's direction. Speaking of the storm, it's slowing down too. The constant hum and wailing of the wind passing through the crevices and trees is less prevalent now, slowly fading as the storm subsides.

   Renewed with energy, Baekhyun opens the window, fills up the steel bucket with snow. He then carries it to the fire and somehow puts it over the flame. It takes more than fifteen minutes for the snow to melt, and another ten for it to come to a suitable temperature.

   Meanwhile, Kyungsoo undresses down to his boxers. Baekhyun tries not to stare. Before, when Kyungsoo was injured he was so concerned and overcome with the nausea that he didn't have the time or capacity to admire Kyungsoo's physique. Not that he haven't seen Kyungsoo shirt-less before, being roommates it's unavoidable. But he's never seen Kyungsoo so underdressed, with nothing but boxers that hid nothing from imagination. Vaguely, his brain registers that he has been staring for two minutes straight. Mostly, his brain is occupied with one, resounding thought: _That ass._ And what a nice ass it is too.

   Kyungsoo looks up at him, and Baekhyun blinks, trying to ignore his flaming face again. "Can you help me close to the fire and the water?"

   Baekhyun nods. He places a chair next to the fire and the bucket of boiling water. Then helps Kyungsoo into the chair. It's not the same anymore. The seed of desire has started to grow already, and Baekhyun's mind and body are at odds. His mind insists that he is only helping his friend, there's nothing awkward about it. But his body screams with frustration as he wraps a hand around Kyungsoo's exposed waist, and lets Kyungsoo wrap his arm around his shoulders. As they hobble to the fire, Baekhyun tries not to grab too hard at the supple skin of Kyungsoo's curving waist, but his fingers tremble as their skins come into contact anyway. Kyungsoo shivers slightly too, but maybe that's just because he's nearly naked in this whether.

   "We have some bacon, and frozen cutlets for breakfast," he informs Kyungsoo, as he checks the supplies. There are many other things frozen in the fridge too, but he is not sure how long they'll have the fire. Still, considering the slowing storm, they might be out of here soon enough. He believed in Chanyeol too.

   While he prepares his grill stove, sitting next to Kyungsoo he tries not to stare. But Kyungsoo is wiping himself clean with a cloth dipped in hot water, and his already splendid skin looks perfectly edible when wet.

    _Come to your senses! Seriously, edible?_

   "That smells really delicious," Kyungsoo remarks suddenly.

   "Oh, yeah. It sure does." It takes a moment. Baekhyun realizes that Kyungsoo meant the food now simmering on the pan, but he meant Kyungsoo's skin. 

   Looking away, he tries to hold himself together. _What's wrong with me?_

   Finally, Kyungsoo declares himself clean, and Baekhyun helps him back to the sofa again. He feels a bit of regret as Kyungsoo wears a new pair of comfortable trousers (they have to rip the left leg to accommodate Kyungsoo's broken leg) and a soft white sweater.

   Their breakfast is surprisingly cheerful.

   Kyungsoo admits to feeling better. "As long as I don't hurt my leg again, I'll be fine. But I'm scared that without a splint, my leg might start healing itself in the same twisted position it is in currently."

   "That won't happen. And if it really gets that way, then..." Baekhyun thinks about it. "Then we'll just have to call you damaged goods. Who knows that might deter your stalkers too?"

   Kyungsoo, who is used to Baekhyun's mediocre jokes, rolls his eyes. "That's something to look forward to at least."

   Baekhyun smiles, suddenly becoming serious. "I meant it, you know. I really am..."

   "Say sorry one more time and I'm roasting you in that fire."

   Baekhyun zips his lips and throws the imaginary key into the fire. Kyungsoo smiles at him, soft and... affectionate. That gives Baekhyun something to talk about.  

   "You said you're in love with someone," he begins, all casual. "Is it someone I know?"

   Kyungsoo looks up, slightly shocked. He bites his lips. Baekhyun shouldn't have noticed that gesture in normal circumstances, but he notices it now and finds it interestingly sexy. Kyungsoo gives a slight nod.

   Baekhyun's chest bumps. "Oh. Is it someone in our college?"

   Again, a nod.

   "Do they have classes with you?" This one is tricky. Baekhyun is a junior and has no classes with Kyungsoo.

   After some hesitation, Kyungsoo shakes his head. "No, he isn't in my classes. And before you ask if he lives with us, the answer is yes."

   Baekhyun's heart thuds painfully. He hadn't expected Kyungsoo to be so frank about it, so suddenly. He didn't comment about _"he"_ , he was an asshole but he had morals too. "Roommate?" he can't help but echo.

   Kyungsoo is not meeting his eyes. At once he looks desperate as well as urgent. Like a man changed after his brush with death. A man with nothing else to lose.

   Baekhyun can't say anything. The question: _Is it me?_ will have two probable answers. Either Kyungsoo will say yes, in which Baekhyun wouldn't know what to do anymore; or Kyungsoo would say no, and Baekhyun didn't know how he would handle the rejection as well as the information that came with the answer.

   He thinks hard. Chanyeol seems like a likely candidate, tall, dark, handsome and kind to a fault. But Jongin seems like a perfect candidate too; Jongin who had become Kyungsoo's unofficial bodyguard after the whole "stalker" fiasco. Suddenly, he feels the bacon and chicken cutlets coming out of his stomach. He swallows. 

   Kyungsoo is watching him now. He knows what he is doing, what he's confessing. And Baekhyun doesn't even know if he has the heart to crush Kyungsoo's happiness any further.

   Instead, he tries to dig deeper. "I'm not going to ask who it is, amongst Chanyeol, Jongin and I. But I'm going to ask you why you love him?"

   Now Kyungsoo sighs. He looks profoundly sad and inexplicable lonely in his fluffy white sweater. "I don't know how to answer that question. Why do we breathe? Why do cry? Why are we human? It's like a question you know the answer to, but can't be satisfied with no matter how you word it."

   Baekhyun purses his lips, overwhelmed. _Imagine, what it would be like to be loved by Kyungsoo. To be loved this much._ He has to blink fast, dissipating the tears forming there. "Then how about, how long, or since when have you loved him?"

   Kyungsoo smiles, looking at the fire, memories dancing in the flames reflected in his eyes. "Ten seconds after the first meeting. Ten seconds only. Pathetic."

   Baekhyun recaps his own meeting with Kyungsoo. It had gone smoothly, Baekhyun was thrilled to be meeting Chanyeol as well as Chanyeol's beautiful friend. And then he ruined it by inserting the "twink" joke. Exactly ten seconds later.

 _It is me, isn't it Kyungsoo?_ he asks silently.

   Kyungsoo holds his gaze, not giving anything away anymore; he'd already given up too much. Baekhyun is ignoring it, and he can see it clearly. Hurt flashes in Kyungsoo's eyes, so fast that if Baekhyun hadn't been looking at him, he might have missed it entirely.

   Kyungsoo looks away and smirks, changing the subject. "Enough about me. What's up with your love life? Last I heard you were dating that what's-her-name?"

   "Taeyeon. Three months ago. We broke up because she fell in love with someone else." Baekhyun isn't bitter at all, in fact, his relationship with Taeyeon was a mistake on so many levels, it was a relief when she called it off. "I don't have a love life, as such. And I don't plan on dating for a while."

   Kyungsoo nods like he is happy about it, but Baekhyun can see the hope dying in him. "Well, that's really... wise I guess. The next semester is bound to get tougher anyways."

   They drift into silence. It's obvious they are not used to the whole friendship deal. It's awkward for them both, even more so now where one party has vaguely confessed to his feelings and the party has to act too stupid in order to get out of the situation.

   Thinking of something to do, Baekhyun takes their dirty plates and the water bucket aside. Using the leftover water, he scrubs the plates clean and anything else that needed washing. Then he filled up the bucket with a bit of snow again, and had a quick sponge bath himself, taking care to do it outside of Kyungsoo's line of sight in the bedroom. It's difficult to be in the bedroom, there's no fireplace here, and the radiator became useless when they lost power.

   Once that task is out of the way and he feels relatively clean, he mans up and approaches Kyungsoo again.

   "I think I should go look for firewood outside," he begins without preamble. "I can also try to clear up the front door, there is a shovel under the kitchen sink."

   Kyungsoo only blinks. Then softly he says, "Just be careful."

   It breaks Baekhyun's heart as well as swells it in his chest. It's like a freight train hitting him over and over again - this realization that Kyungsoo has feelings for him. Now that he has seen it, now that Kyungsoo has unveiled himself so clearly, it's impossible to believe that he never even saw it before. All this time, he had been joking around with Kyungsoo, getting hit as a result, in order to get close to him. All this time, he never knew. He feels ashamed of himself, not to mention, he gives a whole new meaning to the word "stupid".

   Baekhyun sighs. "I'll be careful. I promise." _And I'm sorry. For being such a colossal idiot._

   

AFTER a stifling morning together, Baekhyun leaves from the bedroom window. Kyungsoo looks like he wants to say something, right as Baekhyun leaves, but then changes his mind. 

   As soon as he is outside, Baekhyun can see the extent of damage around him. Most of the downhill cabins are completely buried, just their sloped roofs peeking out like cones. The road to the reception building is clear, but he does not see any sign that someone has been here.

   Dragging his shovel to the front, he stars clearing out the door. Seven inches of snow is piled up against it, taller than him. He gets to work.

   The afternoon sun crosses over the sky, sometimes behind the thick yet dissipating clouds, sometimes glaring down furiously. After an hour, he takes off his upper padding, comfortably sweaty with the toil.

   It takes a lot to unearth the door, and even more to clear the window. As the panes emerge, Baekhyun is shocked to see Kyungsoo standing in the window frame, watching him.

   As their eyes meet, Kyungsoo smiles softly. Baekhyun drops his shovel, nearly injuring himself. Kyungsoo should not look so beautiful, so angelic framed in the window but he does. And that smile, Baekhyun's not used to it. The most he ever got out of Kyungsoo was his glare, and punches. Kyungsoo smiling at him for a change, it's unbearably sweet and heart stopping.

   He is not aware, but a stupid grin is now stretched on his face as well. Kyungsoo shakes his head, apparently relieved to see him doing well. He hobbles out of sight.

   Renewed with motivation to return indoors and to a close proximity of Kyungsoo's smiles, Baekhyun attacks the rest of the snow with vigor. He takes two hours, and by the end of it, the rust colored cabin emerges out of the snow like a new born comes out of a mother's belly. He jogs back, stares up at his handiwork, and laughs. In the sea of snow and buried cabins, theirs stood out like Kyungsoo's broken leg. It will be easily spotted, he hopes.

   He is beginning to look forward to clear up some of the spaces left do that he can get back inside the warmth of the cabin, when he hears a sound. In the stillness left behind the storm, the sound is ominous and alien. He frowns, stopping mid-work, head tilting towards the sound. For a wild second he thinks it is coming from inside the cabin. But the sound is drawing closer every moment and getting louder too. He recognizes the sound as soon as he spots the movement on the sky.

   A Helicopter.

   Baekhyun screams. Grabbing his shovel, he runs on the untouched lane and starts waving frantically. He doesn't realize he's still screaming as the sound gets louder, the helicopter moving closer.

   "HEEELP! OVER HERE! PLEEEAAASE! HEEELP! HEEEEEELP!" He screams over and over.

   But the helicopter is flying ahead, not coming to his side of the mountain. He runs after it. Shovel in hand, he trips once or twice. But it's over before it even began.

   He falls on his knees as the helicopter slowly disappeared among the clouds again. His voice breaks off in a choke. Hope leaves his chest, bleeding out; he didn't even know he had started hoping.

   Behind him, the window opens and Kyungsoo sticks his head out. "Baekhyun!" he calls, his concern apparent. "Why were you screaming? Are you hurt?"

   Slowly, Baekhyun gets up. He comes to the window, and a phenomenon occurs. His anxiety dissolves as he looks upon Kyungsoo's face, standing in the window with barely concealed worry. Suddenly the urge to wipe that worry off Kyungsoo attacks and he finds his face melting into an uneasy smile. 

   "There was a helicopter. I was screaming at them. Stupid." 

   Kyungsoo sighs, face melting in a wary smile. "Thank god, I thought you... Never mind. At least now we know there are helicopters passing through."

   Baekhyun hears what Kyungsoo didn't say: _Thank god, I thought you were hurt._ It's baffling really, to know his safety matters to someone, to Kyungsoo. That he's important to Kyungsoo in that way. He feels so lucky, so cherished that he wants to reach in through the open window and embrace Kyungsoo. He almost does.

   But instead, he smiles, "You're right! And I've got an idea."

   Kyungsoo goes back inside, closing the window. And Baekhyun gets to work. Using the shovel, he carves out deep, huge words in the snow. SOS. Darting back, he observes his handiwork. He smirks. Then, to make it even more prominent from the air, he runs to the pine fallen next to their bedroom window and stars gathering branches and leaves to fill in the white words and outlines them. 

   Satisfied, he suddenly wants to go back inside. He wants to see Kyungsoo and talk to him. He wants to hug Kyungsoo. He wants to forget that a helicopter came and went, and he wants to forget that he was an asshole to Kyungsoo all along. He just _wants_...

   Dragging his shovel, he climbs in through the window. And there is warmth, there is Kyungsoo. He has located himself in front of the fire, and seems to be making something delicious. Then again, everything that Kyungsoo makes is delicious. At his arrival, Kyungsoo looks up, lips forming a half curious smile.

   Baekhyun feels like he's a puppet on strings. His feet carry him towards Kyungsoo, who blinks in confusion at his sudden, single minded approach. He gets to his knee, and he grabs Kyungsoo in a hug.

   Kyungsoo's gasp leaves him in a huff, _"Oh!"_

   And for the first time since this accursed trip, Baekhyun feels safe. He doesn't know what it is, but holding Kyungsoo is nearly therapeutic. He sighs, ducking his head into Kyungsoo's shoulder, inhaling his scent. 

   For a moment, he feels Kyungsoo tremble a little, and then, Kyungsoo's arms come up to hug him back.

   They stay like this for a long time.

 

THAT night they sleep together. It's unspoken between them, as Kyungsoo lies in the sofa and inadvertently leaves enough space for Baekhyun, and Baekhyun follows him under the blankets. They face the cabin ceiling, and drift into sleep.

   Except Kyungsoo can't fall asleep. 

   Today has been eventful. While the news of a helicopter passing by is good, and it assures that they might be saved soon enough, he feels antsy. _Am I too evil to want to remain here? Just a little?_ Because he knows it's hopeless and that once they return to their lives, Baekhyun might get lost in his distractions again, preferring his loud friends over taciturn Kyungsoo. It's also possible that their peace will crash and burn. But while they are here, Kyungsoo feels greedy. _Just a few more days, just a little more time with Baekhyun, away from the rest of the world. Is it too much to ask?_

   And then there was his own moment of weakness this morning. He'd said too much, unwillingly admitting his feelings for Baekhyun. He knew Baekhyun had made connections, but Baekhyun didn't say anything. Instead, he pretended to ignore it all. That was worse than if Baekhyun had rejected him.

   But he was confused now because even if he ignored, Baekhyun was trying to do something too. The hug today had been totally unexpected, though not unwelcome. It unsettled Kyungsoo a lot, made him question what could be the cause. He would have asked about it too, if not for the awkwardness that followed.

   Unknowingly, their hug lasted for more than twenty minutes, perhaps an hour; time was a blur. He just remembered clinging to Baekhyun, nose against his shoulder, and willing the time to stop. Then they realized how much time had passed and moved away. 

   Kyungsoo had made cream and cheese pasta. They ate a lot, cleaned the dishes. And ignored the elephant in the cabin. Kyungsoo wanted to ask what was it about. Baekhyun could have said that it was just a hug, between friends. But he didn't say anything and became distant and quiet and thoughtful. That was even more nerve-racking.

   So when he got in the sofa bed, he'd unconsciously left space for Baekhyun. Half of him, more than half of him really, was convinced that Baekhyun would roll out his floor mat and stay there but his heart stopped when Baekhyun slid next to him. It was a huge sofa, but sofa nonetheless, and he couldn't sleep when Baekhyun was pressed against him like this.

    _Stop thinking about it, Kyungsoo._ He told himself firmly. _This is never going to happen. Don't hope, you'll get hurt._

   So taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and after a while, sleep comes to him.

 

BAEKHYUN is awake. He is awake as Kyungsoo struggles for sleep, and awake after Kyungsoo's breathing evens out. 

   Once he realizes it is safe, he turns around.

   They are shoulder to shoulder, Kyungsoo's head pressed against the back rest. And he finally comes to a conclusion. He's spent the whole day thinking about it, and now, an answer is in front of him.

   His urge to tangle with Kyungsoo since their second meeting (Kyungsoo thinks it's their first but Kyungsoo doesn't remember) and all of his pranks and silly jokes after, have each been full of meaning. Oh, they were all purposeful at first, he was curious about Kyungsoo and what made him tick. But then it became a sort of play, hide and seek, to him. And whenever Kyungsoo noticed him, long enough to bother hitting him, Baekhyun felt a sense of accomplishment. Knowing that Kyungsoo saw him and reacted, was human, was enough.

   But somewhere along the road, lines had blurred. His pranks got intense and (as he now knew) have caused Kyungsoo a lot of trouble. His innocent, attention-seeking pranks became harmful. He realized that it was because Kyungsoo had started getting further away from him over the last few months. He left the room when Baekhyun entered, he escaped the venue when Baekhyun broke out his big pranks, he didn't laugh, or even hit Baekhyun when he called him names. Kyungsoo was no longer looking, and he had to up his game. The result wasn't what he expected, but still, now he knew the reason.

   Today, his day spent in thinking had given him the answer. Kyungsoo was in love with him. Baekhyun was constantly hurting him and giving him trouble. Kyungsoo wanted to get away and forget him, because getting hurt by someone you loved was no joke. Enter Chanyeol and Jongin with this not-so-brilliant intervention. 

   And that came down to Kyungsoo's almost-confession and their hug today.

   The hug is what did it for Baekhyun.

   Like when an idea comes, and you realize for a moment that universe is full of meaning and resources, furthermore hope fills you to brim. It was a realization, a ding! of comprehension, and Baekhyun is baffled he hadn't even considered the possibility before.

   His insane obsession with Kyungsoo to see him, look at him - maybe is isn't so insane after all. 

   When Taeyeon broke up with him, she'd something that until this moment had made no sense to Baekhyun. She'd said, "You never look at me and your pranks are more important than us. I can't be the invisible one in this relationship, Baekhyun. I'm sorry but it's over."

   He thought she meant actual invisibly which was impossible. But no, he realized, she was talking about the invisibility of someone not seeing you for who you were. He knew what being invisible felt like; it felt like spending hours coming up with a joke and punch lines but Kyungsoo not laughing along;  like drawing incriminating pictures on Kyungsoo's science assignment and waiting to be hit but Kyungsoo disregarding that vandalism;  like wanting to scream at Kyungsoo but Kyungsoo pretending to be deaf.

   All this time, he was the invisible one in their relationship (friendship?) and his behavior has been a proactive struggle to change things.

   Except, he wasn't invisible for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo has seen him. Enough to fall in love.

_In this sense, I'm the blind one._

   Today, the hug - it was an epiphany. 

   And Baekhyun knew, and now as he lay next to Kyungsoo, watching his beautiful lips parted in sleep, his soft eyelashes against his cheeks, his familiar, breathtaking face, he dares to say it aloud. "I think... I'm in love with you too."

   It feels like a burden lifts from his shoulders as soon as he says it. He smiles to himself, and then goes to sleep, snuggling close to Kyungsoo.

 

KYUNGSOO can't believe it. This morning when he woke up, Baekhyun greeted him with a smile and then prepared his favorite breakfast. It was like last two days hadn't happened at all. It was like a show that had an old married couple who did everything together and were sickeningly domestic. 

   He sits down, baffled, and eats the breakfast. Meanwhile, Baekhyun is talking non-stop about what he is planning to do once they get out of here.

   "I'm thinking I should also get a part time job. After the last semester is over we have to have enough job experience to get somewhere fast. You're lucky in that regard, you've been holding a job since the first semester. Hey, what's your plan after graduation?"

   At first Kyungsoo eats silently. Then: "I'm going back to my hometown. I'll have to support my family."

   Baekhyun's smile cracks, just a bit. And that's how Kyungsoo knows, the cheerful breakfast, the optimistic conversation, it's all meaningful. He doesn't know what Baekhyun is trying to do, but it's clear this is an attempt to divert the attention from their circumstances, Kyungsoo's injury and the general awkwardness between them after the hug.

   Kyungsoo allows it. After a brief pause, Baekhyun dives back into the future planning. "You know I've never seen your hometown. I've heard you say it's beautiful. I guess I'd like to see it too, if it's not too much to ask."

   Kyungsoo blinks. This is unexpected. "I don't have a problem with that. Yeah, sure."

   Baekhyun grins as if Kyungsoo have given him the whole world. Kyungsoo hates that grin precisely because it's bright and painful. 

   After they have eaten, Kyungsoo finds a book to read, and Baekhyun prances about trying to do things that are pointless. He cleans the living room, which isn't too messy to begin with. He rearranges the candle jars so there's more light around the living room than the rest of the cabin. He makes the living room into a livable, lively and warm space. Kyungsoo's bed is still set on the sofa pushed close to the fireplace, Baekhyun adds a sleeping mat next to it for himself. 

   Kyungsoo looks at him though his eyelashes. Last night, they'd slept together. Even though, it's been a tight fit, Kyungsoo had been warm. But it's obvious, Baekhyun wasn't going to do that anymore. Somehow, Kyungsoo feels hurt despite his decision to let Baekhyun go.

   In the middle of the night, their peace shatters again as something crashes. This time, right on top of them.

   The tree falls right over their bedroom. It's a sturdy cabin, but still, a gutterhole sized chunk of log ceiling breaks, letting in not just the cold wind, but the eerie music of it too.

   Both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun wake up, startled. They can tell what happened through the open door to the bedroom, but they can't believe it actually happened. What nobody says is that what could have happened if they were inside the bedroom still.

   Baekhyun gets up and stalks towards the door. Taking a look inside, he purses his lips. The damage is right over the bed, and it's clear in his expression that he's relieved to be safe. He shuts the bedroom door firmly. "We have to conserve heat."

   But still, a forceful draught finds its way through the crevices of the bedroom door, and Baekhyun uses the spare sofa cushions to block the space underneath at least. 

   Then they sit silently. After the helicopter, their hope had gone up by an infinitesimal degree. Even if they didn't acknowledge it, they were thinking about leaving soon enough. Now, with death brushing past them so suddenly, so unceremoniously, they were scared again. What were the odds that three trees had fallen in their vicinity in under three days, one of them actually crushing Kyungsoo's leg? 

   "Kyungsoo," Baekhyun says, after a while, hesitant. "Do you think I can...? It's really cold down here, and I'm thinking we should save the remaining firewood in case..."

   Kyungsoo shifts on the sofa, making space for Baekhyun. It's really wise to save firewood in case something really bad happened, and it was also wise to stay close together in case another tree decided to fall again. Even as he thinks of all the logical reasons for what they are doing as valid, he can't help but anticipate something. His heart doesn't stop beating fast.

   Baekhyun looks relieved that Kyungsoo understood his meaning without saying it out loud. He crawls into the space next to him, and sighs as warmth embraces him. They are barely touching, but Kyungsoo's scent overwhelms him. Before he even thinks about it, he turns his head to watch Kyungsoo.

   Kyungsoo's eyes are already on him. Everything freezes over, and again, they can't look away.

    _Can you see? Can you tell my feelings for you, Kyungsoo?_

   At first, they just gaze into each other's eyes. Then Kyungsoo shuffles closer, throwing an arm around him and setting his head on Baekhyun's shoulder. "Move closer. We'll be warmer that way."

   Baekhyun's face is already warm. Still, he angles his body to better snuggle Kyungsoo, and wraps his own arms around the boy he's been obsessing over for more than an year.

   Sleep doesn't come for a long time. Each boy is thinking about what was going to happen to them next. Would they survive? Would they ever get out? And once they did, what would it mean for their relationship?

   "Baekhyun?" Kyungsoo speaks softly, listening to Baekhyun's steady heartbeat. "Are we... What are we going to do now?"

   Baekhyun wraps his arms around him tightly, breathing deeply. "For starters, we're going to survive. Then we're getting out of here, and beating the shit out of Chanyeol. After that, if you still want me to come to your hometown... we'll go there."

   Kyungsoo smiles. "Sounds like a plan. Good night, Baekhyun."

   "Yeah, night, Soo."

    _And I'm going to tell you the truth about my feelings,_ adds Baekhyun, silently as he closes his eyes.

   Too bad, he never gets the chance.

 

KYUNGSOO'S screams wake him up next. Baekhyun blinks, and swallows a scream of his own. During the night, the bedroom ceiling had caved further in, and some of the debris had fallen against the door, propping it open. What's worse, the clear sky of yesterday is replaced by screaming flurry, piling onto the living room carpet, a few paces away from their sofa.

   Baekhyun leaps out of the sofa, and finally finds Kyungsoo, sitting on the floor. But it isn't the ceiling or the storm that made Kyungsoo yell. It is his broken leg. He is holding his leg at an awkward angle, clutching the space just above the break tightly as if he's trying to hold something in. Baekhyun peers closely, and almost vomits again.

   The break and the resulting wound is getting ghastly, it's tinted blue, purple and green. It's obviously infected, and Kyungsoo's feeling the worst of it despite the cautions.

   "Kyungsoo, how bad is it hurting?" He sits down next to him, keeping his voice gentle.

   Through his clenched teeth, Kyungsoo says, "The cold woke me. I tried to close the bedroom's door when I felt it."

   Baekhyun swallows again, terrified for Kyungsoo's sake. "Felt what?"

   "My bone shifting underneath the flesh. Then I noticed this... infection." Kyungsoo meets his eyes, panicked. "What if I can't ever use my leg again? What if we have to cut it off?"

   "No, that's not-" But Baekhyun doesn't know what to say. He can't lie to Kyungsoo, not now when he's obviously scared. He'd seen movies and documentaries of war heroes. He knows that an infection like this might end up causing Kyungsoo to lose his leg. But right then, he can't do it to Kyungsoo. He's given Kyungsoo so much trouble already, so many terrors, he can't find it in himself to scare Kyungsoo further.

   Instead, he helps Kyungsoo up on the sofa again. Kyungsoo bites his lips at the pain that starts up because of the smallest movement.

   "We're going to get through this together," Baekhyun says, voice soft over the howling storm. "Kyungsoo, trust me. I'm going to be here with you, through this whole thing. So don't be scared. We're going to be just fine."

   Kyungsoo meets his eyes, there are tears there. "You won't leave me here to die, right?"

   Baekhyun feels a sudden surge of anger. How could Kyungsoo think about him like that? But then again, when had he ever given Kyungsoo a reason to believe him? Forcing his own conflicting emotions down, he smiled. "I won't leave you. Ever. I promise."

   Kyungsoo blinks, making his tears dissipate. "Okay. Okay, that's... I feel better now. It still hurts but... I'm okay now."

   Baekhyun does the only thing that he can. He embraces Kyungsoo. It's the right thing to do, because Kyungsoo melts into his arms, shuddering due to the pain and cold. For a while, Baekhyun keeps holding him, but he can't get distracted now, so he twists his head and whispers in Kyungsoo's ear, his lips brushing over the lobe gently, "I'm going to make sure we're warm first, okay? And then we're going to take care of your injury."

   Kyungsoo shivers slightly, and Baekhyun knows it's because of his daring act of whispering right in Kyungsoo's ears. _There, Kyungsoo. Can't you tell now?_ But to make it clear that he meant to kept his promise, as well as give Kyungsoo more hint, he softly kisses Kyungsoo's forehead too, before pulling away and heading towards the broken door of the bedroom.

 

KYUNGSOO has never been scared for his own life before. No, maybe he has. 

   When Baekhyun announced his number to everyone, he faced various difficulties. Two people, more importantly, gave him nightmares; a girl in his class and a senior jock. Kyungsoo remembered waking up in the middle of nights because of nightmares regarding them. How the girl sometimes sat behind him, so close he could feel her breath on the back of his neck. How the jock sometimes pushed him against his locker, standing too close for comfort and smiling at him as if they had a secret. Kyungsoo remembered running to Jongin and Chanyeol for help, and both of them made sure to never leave him alone long enough for it to ever happen again. It didn't happen again, but occasionally, he would see the girl stalking him to his old workplace, and the jock would break into his locker and leave various disturbing images of himself as gifts. 

   That's when Kyungsoo truly became scared for his life. It was irrational fear, and with time, and loads of help, Kyungsoo managed to forget about it.

   But as he fell on the carpet, and clutched his leg this morning, his fear had been a raw, tangible thing. He didn't remember screaming.

   As Baekhyun woke up and found him, Kyungsoo was ashamed of showing his weak side like that. And he was even more embarrassed when he begged Baekhyun not to leave him alone. But as his fears escaped, and Baekhyun held him close, he found himself scared of another thing.

_Is it possible to fall even more in love with him than I already am?_

Then again, what can Baekhyun mean with being so nice to him all of a sudden. He knows that Baekhyun feels guilty about his injury and his pranks in the past. But that wasn't all. Kyungsoo thinks its something else too, especially since yesterday's hug, and the kiss just moments ago. But all he can do is wait, trying to keep his pain at the back of his mind.

 

BAEKHYUN can't think clearly anymore. Kyungsoo's leg is worse. Its getting a bright shade of green, purple and red. Kyungsoo is pain, clearly, but is keeping his mouth shut. 

   Baekhyun closes the door to the bedroom with some effort, and pushes a bookrack in front of it to provide some sort of leverage against the wind. Then he uses up the last of their firewood to make enough fire to keep them warm for several hours. He is scared that they don't have any more firewood, especially since they have no means of getting out of here now that there is a storm again after a day of peace.

    But even more than that, he's scared for Kyungsoo. He rips apart a bed covering in order to clean Kyungsoo's wound again, but each touch is painful to Kyungsoo who keeps biting his lips, blinking away tears.

   "Its going to be all right, Kyungsoo," he keeps whispering, even though his own eyes sting with tears.

   This is too much, Kyungsoo's pain is something he feels too, as if he's the one with a broken leg. But now, things have changed for him. He knows what Kyungsoo means to him now, and it has put everything in a strange new perspective for him. As he finishes cleaning the wound and grabs a new set of bandages made of bed covering, he realizes his tears have found their way out of his eyes, and Kyungsoo is staring at him.

   "Baekhyun, why are you crying? I don't... what's wrong with you? Why are you being this way?"

   "Can't you tell why?" he  whispers miserably. "I get that you probably hate me now after everything but-"

   "I told you I don't!"

   Baekhyun closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. _Here it is. What have I got to lose anymore?_ "The reason I was always doing thing to tease you was because I wanted you to _look_ at me, Kyungsoo. I wanted you to give me some sort of attention. But, at the first day in our apartment, I made a joke and it was like I became invisible to you. You didn't look at me, or laugh at my jokes and... I had to do something to make you react in any way possible."

   Kyungsoo sits still, so stunned that he cant do anything but blink. Taking this as a sign to continue, Baekhyun says, "I realize now that I was pathetic and unintentionally cruel. But I didn't know how to contain my anger."

   "Anger?" Kyungsoo says softly, confused.

   "Because that day at the apartment wasn't the first time we met Kyungsoo. And I knew that you'd forgotten all about it, all about me, so I was angry. I wanted to make you pay at first, but then, I just wanted something from you. A reaction, a laugh, a look. Anything."

   "It's impossible," Kyungsoo whispers again, shaking his head. "I would know if we've ever met before. I'd remember you if we'd met, I know I would."

   At this Baekhyun smiles bitterly. "I wasn't always this handsome specimen you see before you. I used to be ugly. I had pimples, my skin was overly tanned because  spent time outdoors avoiding work and school. I had glasses too, not the sexy kind you have, but round and bulging. And then I had hair like a mouse's tail. I was repulsive."

   Kyungsoo's confusion gives way to thoughts, and then sudden realization. "You.... What school did you go to?"

   Baekhyun chuckles. "The same as you. You were the only person who was nice to me, who cared. And when I left, I vowed myself that it'll become someone equal to you. That one day, I'll come in front of you out of the blue, and you'll recognize me and then... I guess I should've known. Why would you remember a little nobody like me, right?"

   Kyungsoo shakes his head, disbelief clear on his face. "I thought, I thought you'd left me. I didn't forget you. And that joke about twink, you were trying to make me remember!"

   Baekhyun's whole world stops. _He remembers?_ Because 'twink' was the nickname the bullies had given Baekhyun. It was nickname that always made him cry, and it was always Kyungsoo who comforted him. 

   "You remembered me?"

   "Of course, I did! But I never thought... how can I forget your name? How did I- I'm so sorry Baekhyun. It's all my fault isn't it. I'm the reason of this whole mess."

   Baekhyun garbs Kyungsoo's hand and places a soft kiss on his palm, successfully shutting Kyungsoo up. "Listen, I'm not telling you so that you can apologize. I'm telling you because you were my only friend, and later, in my attempts to gain your attention, I started to... I started to like you, Kyungsoo. More than I should like anyone. You're the reason I broke up with Taeyeon. She knew, before I did, what I feel for you."

   Kyungsoo's lips part, eyes wide. "What... you feel... for me?"

   "I like you, Kyungsoo. And all the plans I told of about my future, I want to fulfill them with you by my side."

   Kyungsoo was shaking now, and it wasn't from cold. "You... bastard! You stupid, idiot, devil! Why didn't you say anything?!"

    Baekhyun smiles gain. "Because I'm a stupid, idiot, devil. And I didn't realize my feelings before it was too late. Because I get it now... you don't feel that way..."

   And then Kyungsoo surges forward and kisses him. Baekhyun's whole mind goes blank, for a moment, and then he kisses him back. It is soft and fire and ice and everything all packed together. He can't breathe, and doesn't want to. 

   When they finally part, they are both panting. Kyungsoo looks like he want to hit him, and then kiss him again. Baekhyun is all right with it. He's all right with anything as long as it's with Kyungsoo.

   "I don't hate you, Baekhyun," whispers Kyungsoo, his eyes dark with an overwhelming emotion. "And I always looked at you. Even if I didn't laugh, I always found your jokes funny. And then, your pranks, well... Sure, I hated those. But I didn't hate you, and the more you teased me, the less I could look away from you. I hated it because despite all of it, I still wanted you."

   It's Baekhyun's turn to cry. "Even though you didn't recognize me?"

   "I'm sorry about that," Kyungsoo whispers. "I should've recognized you. But... you've changed so much. You were shy and soft, and suddenly you became so loud and dazzling that... well you can't blame me for not making the connection."

   Baekhyun smirks. "You think I'm dazzling?"

   At once, Kyungsoo whole face goes red. And Baekhyun laughs and laughs, he garbs Kyungsoo face and kisses him again and again. He can't stop laughing or kissing Kyungsoo.

   Because he's happy. He's really, truly happy.

 

THEY sleep together that night, warm under the blanket, close to the fire that has only a few hours left. Kyungsoo's leg is still hurt and throbbing with pain, but he doesn't care. He's too happy, too wrapped up in Baekhyun's embrace and kisses to care about something so trivial as pain.

   As for Baekhyun, he's been telling him of his life after he left Kyungsoo. He'd gone to his new hometown and there he'd made friends with Chanyeol, who'd helped him in becoming the loud, confident boy he was today.

   "I looked for you everywhere. I tried sending you letters but the school wouldn't tell me your address. I didn't have your number, you were this cool, kind kid who felt pity for a bullied wretch like me. There was no reason for me to have your number, and now I get that maybe, I should've asked you before I left. Years later, Chanyeol sent me a picture with you, his new college friend and roommate. I recognized you at once, and I had to come get you. Didn't go as planned though."

   All the while, they share kisses. So many kisses that Kyungsoo is drunk with them. He cant remember what life was like before he kissed Baekhyun. Because after the kiss, he doesn't know what sort of life he can possibly live anymore, a life without Baekhyun's kisses.

   They dance at the edge of desire, straying too close to lust many times, but each time they pull back. It's a torture, because Kyungsoo wants it, and he knows Baekhyun wants it too. But he also understands the requirement to be cautious because of his injury and because they have yet to remember each other properly.

   Late at night, while they drift into sleep, hands intertwined, lips at the kissing distance, the firewood spits one last time before dying. The embers stay for  awhile, but the cold seeping through the cracks of the bedroom door takes care of the rest. It gets cold, so cold that the candles start going out one by one. There's no light left, except a few candles that managed to avoid the steady draft coming form the bedroom door.

   They wake up together, and huddle close under a pile of blankets. The cold numbs Kyungsoo's wound, but it's to a point that Baekhyun starts shivering too.

   They don't speak. It's unspoken between them this time. They know what the future is. It's not going to be Baekhyun fulfilling his dreams with Kyungsoo; its not going to be Kyungsoo taking Baekhyun home and showing him around. They've survived long enough. But in the end, the cold has won.

   "Just our luck," says Baekhyun at length. "I finally tell you how  feel and now we have to die."

   Kyungsoo wraps himself around Baekhyun more, sharing the warmth together. He buries his face in Baekhyun's neck. "It's all right, as long as it's with you."

   Baekhyun gives a bleak chuckle. "Oh, what a way to go. Stranded in a storm, huddled in a romantic cabin, under a blanket. I'm pretty sure we're headed straight to heaven."

   Kyungsoo has to laugh. And he does, loud and wild. It's not madness really, it's because this whole situation shouldn't be funny, but it is. Just a week ago, he was dreading this situation, romantic cabin and everything. And now, he'd give anything to make this work.

   When he recovers, he realizes that Baekhyun is gazing at him with wonder. 

   "You laughed. You just laughed at my joke. Fin-fucking-ally!  I can die in peace now."

   "I won't let you die, Baekhyun. I won't."

   Baekhyun leans down and kisses him, a shard of heat spears through Kyungsoo's body. It must have been the same for Baekhyun because he breaks away with a gasp. Their eye meet, and they just know. If this is their last night together, if they are destined to die... they just knew what they wanted.

   They wanted each other.

   When Baekhyun leads Kyungsoo down on the carpet, in front of the spare embers in the fireplace Kyungsoo smiles up at him with complete trust.

   "Tell me if I hurt you," whispers Baekhyun, and waits for Kyungsoo's nod. Then, he leans down and kisses him, holding nothing back.

   It doesn't take long for one kiss to became two, three, hundred. Kyungsoo's tongue tangles with his own, and there is a moan form somewhere. Baekhyun realizes it's him. Their hands wander, touching, mapping each other. Kyungsoo fiddles with Baekhyun's jacket, trying to push it off of him. Baekhyun breaks away long enough to throw his jacket and sweater, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans. Then, he slowly helps Kyungsoo out of his single shirt. Kyungsoo has spent most of each day in blankets, so his cloths were decidedly less than required, especially his legs, that are bare on account of his injury, essentials covered only in boxers.

   Baekhyun relishes the sight in front of him. The joy is short lived. The evidence of Kyungsoo's incident with the tree is visible, a blue bruise on his ribs, and on his back between his shoulder blades.

   Noting his worry, Kyungsoo grabs his shirt to pull him lower, kissing him. "It's all right, doesn't hurt anymore. Not like the leg."

   "Don't try to make me feel better," he whispers back, but he knows Kyungsoo isn't lying to him. It's written on his face, open, honest, wanting.

   "Well, why don't you kiss me and make it all better?" says Kyungsoo, a coy glint in his eyes.

   "With pleasure."

   And Baekhyun does just that. He kisses his way down from Kyungsoo's neck, to the rest of his torso, worrying his teeth over each of his nipples, and lightly tracing his tongue on the bruise on Kyungsoo's ribs. Kyungsoo is making wretched sounds of pleasure by now, whimpering and moaning. And once Baekhyun reaches lower, and sees Kyungsoo's leaking member through the boxers, he smiles up at him.

   "Hey, Kyungsoo, does it hurt down here?" and he grabs Kyungsoo through his shorts.

   Moaning, Kyungsoo says, "Ahh, yes. It hurts there. So much."

   "Well, I can't have that. I can't take it if you're hurt. Let me help you."

   Baekhyun rushes off, leaving Kyungsoo there. He returns a few moments later with a scissor, and two other items that make Kyungsoo go red.

   "Is that... lube and condoms?"

   Baekhyun waggles his eyebrows. "It's a romantic holiday, of course, I found lube and condoms in the drawers."

   Kyungsoo shakes his head, smiling wide. "How long have you known they were there?"

   Baekhyun pretends to think. "Oh, since the first day. They were in the bedroom drawers before, but I put them in the kitchen drawer, wanting to prank you. Well that one didn't work out."

   "Because I went away and came back half-cripple."

   Kyungsoo was only joking, but Baekhyun's expression became dark. "No, you aren't a cripple. You aren't. Kyungsoo, you will be okay."

   "Come here, I was just teasing." And Baekhyun lets Kyungsoo guide him down again, loosing himself in his kisses.

   "Now I know what it feels like when someone is teasing," says Baekhyun at last, siting up and grabbing the scissors. "It isn't funny at all."

   "Karma," mumbles Kyungsoo, but he can't smile too long because Baekhyun takes the scissors and cuts down Kyungsoo's boxers in half, revealing Kyungsoo's weeping erection.

   "Well, well, well," Baekhyun says, eyes going dark and wide. "You've been holding out on me."

   Kyungsoo's heart lurches. Lust spikes down his spine at that dark emotion in Baekhyun's gaze. "Whose fault is that, huh?"

   "I take full responsibility," Baekhyun replies, smiling softly as he catches Kyungsoo's lust-filled expression. "I'll now proceed with apologizing."

   "Yes, see that you do-" Kyungsoo cuts off with a muffled scream.

   Because Baekhyun is between his legs now, his lips wrapped firmly around the head of Kyungsoo's cock. His eyes are on Kyungsoo, on his parted lips and senseless pleasure written on his face.

   Slowly, he makes his way down, swallowing more of Kyungsoo's cock, teasing the slit with his tongue. He's careful with Kyungsoo's injured leg, but the way Kyungsoo is thrashing around in pleasure is dangerous. He grabs Kyungsoo's hip firmly, preventing him from movement.

   "Baekhyun, please, stop," gasps Kyungsoo, hand grabbing his hair in a tight grip.

   Baekhyun stops, but keeps Kyungsoo in his mouth, enjoying the taste as well as Kyungsoo's obvious distress. This, he thinks, is the best kind of teasing possible. Kyungsoo is responding beautifully, the pain and cold forgotten because the heat between them is too intense.

   "Baekhyun... move..." moans Kyungsoo.

   Baekhyun releases Kyungsoo's erection with a pop. "You told me to stop."

   Kyungsoo glares, and Baekhyun shivers at the dark emotion written there. He knows, if it wasn't for Kyungsoo's injury, Baekhyun would be the one spread on the floor like this, and Kyungsoo would be the one torturing him. The thought of it sends a delicious shudder down his body, his cock hardens further.

   "I've had enough of your pranks and teasing," Kyungsoo says darkly. "If I wasn't injured, I'd make you pay."

   Baekhyun swallows. The excited shiver becomes unbearable. He leans over Kyungsoo, never leaving his eyes. "Say the word, and I'll surrender to you without protest."

   Kyungsoo smiles, soft and dark. "I know. But for now, make me warm. Isn't that what you promised?"

   Baekhyun leans down to kiss Kyungsoo, then grabs the bottle of lube. Slowly, his eyes never leaving Kyungsoo, he starts preparing him. Kyungsoo's eyes fall shut, and he winces once or twice as Baekhyun adds two fingers, probing, searching inside Kyungsoo.

   He knows he's found it when Kyungsoo's eyes fly open and he curses, "Oh. Fuck. Yes. There!"

   Baekhyun chuckles and taps Kyungsoo's prostrate again, just a small brush and it's worth seeing the pleasure rippling over Kyungsoo's face, his body covered in a sheen of sweat. He is too tight.

   "You have no idea how edible you look right now," Baekhyun says, adding a third finger and continuing to torture Kyungsoo's prostrate.

    "That's what the animals are going to say when we die here," Kyungsoo gasps, his voice ragged.

   "But only I'm going to be the one who tastes you first." Baekhyun smiles, finally taking out his fingers, much to Kyungsoo's discomfort.

   A look pass between them. All humor is forgotten after that look. It's filled with unspoken things, emotions, fears. They are terrified of what the future holds. But at the same time, they know that this moment is worth everything, every misunderstanding, every joke or prank, every fear. Each of those have led them here, and despite all of the suffering, they don't regret anything.

   Kyungsoo smiles then, taking Baekhyun's hand tenderly. "Go on. This is your chance to make a snide comment and laugh."

   "You're fucking beautiful," says Baekhyun, nothing snide about his tone.

   Kyungsoo stills, his emotions spilling out with each ragged breath. "I should be the one saying that. Now, take off these damn clothes."

   Baekhyun hurries to do just that. He throws his shirt in the embers, and hops out of the jeans and underwear. He feels Kyungsoo's admiring gaze all over him, and smirks.

   Kyungsoo catches himself staring at Baekhyun's muscles, thighs and the proud erection, and chuckles. "Well, if you're done posing you should get on with it."

   Baekhyun drops on his knees and picks up a condom.

   "No, I want to feel you."

   Baekhyun sighs. "What if... Well, are you sure?"

   Kyungsoo gives him a look that says: _We're dead anyway._ Baekhyun can't find it in himself to joke this time.

   So he lubes himself up and aligns himself with Kyungsoo's opening. Their eyes meet again, silently asking questions, granting permissions. And Baekhyun slowly eases himself into Kyungsoo. His whole body shakes at the heat and the tightness, so much he has to stop to catch his breath. He also has to give Kyungsoo time to adjust too. Even if Kyungsoo isn't showing, he is in pain, doubly so because of his leg trembling at the passion igniting between them.

   Baekhyun leans down, hand stroking his cheek. "Are you okay?"

   Kyungsoo pants, trying to catch his breath. "I'm fine. Don't stop."

   With small thursts, Baekhyun tries to embed himself deep inside Kyungsoo. It's a slow, tortuous process but each movement is part pain, part pleasure. There's no stopping them now.

   As they find the rhythm, their passion escalating, the shirt catches fire in the embers, bathing them in a sweet glow. Baekhyun captures Kyungsoo's lips, their hips undulating as if in a dance. 

   "I love you," whispers Kyungsoo, lips teasing the edge of Baekhyun's ear. "Byun Baekhyun."

   Baekhyun smiles, his eyes smarting because of the heat inside Kyungsoo and the open honesty in each word. Their movements become frantic, mad and wild. 

   Outside, the storm rages on.

   Inside, they consume themselves in the inferno of their own making, again and again, for the whole night.

 

THE next morning, Kyungsoo has a high fever, higher than the last one. Baekhyun spends the day running around, placing icy strips on Kyungsoo's forehead, breaking wooden furniture to make fire, finding spare clothes to stop the draft through various cracks in the bedroom door. 

   But nothing works. The storm is too evil. Too vicious.

    He can't manage the fire when the wind keeps blowing it away, making the embers fly out, scorching the carpet.

   And worst of all, he can't break Kyungsoo's fever.

   "Please, please, open your eyes, Kyungsoo," he sobs, working with the icy water even though his fingers have become numb. "Just hang in there, I'm going to save you. We're going to get out of here."

   But nothing he says makes any difference.

   "Remember, we have to make Chanyeol pay for this!" Baekhyun screams, his voice sounds cracked. In his worry to help Kyungsoo, he's forgotten all about food and water. "Remember, we have to go on our first date. And I have to get a job that you can be proud of. You still have to take me back to your hometown, I have to meet your family. Please, Kyungsoo. Say something."

   As the day pass by, the storm slows down again. But Baekhyun isn't aware of it. He has long given up on his treatment, and now sits with Kyungsoo's hands on his own. His body is going numb. Kyungsoo's lips are blue.

   Baekhyun uses the last of his strength to lie next to Kyungsoo, pulling the blankets upon them. He puts his cheek next to Kyungsoo's, and sobs at the coldness of his flesh.

   There's something he wants to say. Something he hasn't said yet.  But he can't remember, and the cold in making him sleepy. In the end, he closes his eyes.

   Kyungsoo doesn't wake up at all.

 

THE next time he wakes, Baekhyun knows something isn't quite right. The first hint is the absence of the never ending cold, the spilling light that surrounds his vision. The second hint is the soft bed, and absence of Kyungsoo next to him.

    _Kyungsoo._

   He leaps up, head suddenly buzzing with pain, and closes his eyes at the several machines beeping noisily around him. There are voices, close, familiar.

   "Baekhyun? Oh my god, Baekhyun, you're awake!" Chanyeol cries somewhere to his left. "OH MY GOD, NUUURSSE!"

   Baekhyun opens his eyes just as a nurse flips aside the curtain hiding his bed, behind her, Chanyeol stands tall and worried.

   "You have to lie down again, sweetie," says the nurse, pushing him back. "You are still malnourished."

   Baekhyun doesn't even look at her. His eyes are on Chanyeol, and he says, "Kyungsoo." Just that, his name.

   Kyungsoo, who didn't wake up, who kept fighting his fever, who was cold at the end. Kyungsoo, who was his life and death now.

   At the name, Chanyeol looks down, but not before Baekhyun catches his tears. 

   "No," he whispers. "It can't be."

   He elbows the nurse, making her stumble long enough for him to tear off the needles in his arm and stand up. His head spins, but he lurches towards Chanyeol, grabbing his collar.

   "Where. Is. He?" he yells in Chanyeol's face. "WHERE IS MY KYUNGSOO!?"

   Chanyeol gasps, "He's fine! Calm down, Baekhyun. He's fine. He's just... not well yet. But he's alive."

   Kyungsoo is alive Kyungsoo is alive Kyungsoo is alive. "I need to see him. I need to see him NOW!"

   Behind, the nurse is filling up a syringe, probably something to make him sleep. Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol's collar tighter. He's crying now. "Please, Chanyeol. I need to tell him. I need him to know. Please."

   The nurse comes up behind Baekhyun, who tries to get away. Chanyeol steps between them. To nurse he says, "It's alright. I'm going to take care of him."

   "Sir, he's not fully healed. If he keeps walking like that he's going to lose consciousness again."

   Chanyeol sighs. "I'll take him in the wheelchair then."

   Later, Baekhyun can barely keep his eyes open as Chanyeol wheels him out of the ward and into a long corridor. He can barely stay awake as Chanyeol explains what happened.

   "The getaway bus came a few hours before the storm got worse, but when you guys didn't get off, I knew you hadn't made it. There was another couple, they knew about you guys and they explained that nobody from the reception had tried to get to you at all. When the couple tried, they were threatened to be left behind. Once I knew that you guys were stuck I tried to get to you. But because of the intensity of the storm nobody wanted to help me, no one was willing to take a heli so far out. It took me three days, but I managed to get a pilot."

   Chanyeol wheeled them inside the elevator, going up. Baekhyun vaguely remembers the helicopter, and says, "I ran after you. I was trying to get your attention. You didn't stop."

   "I couldn't see anything. Everything was too white and we'd been combing the mountains for two whole days when the storm hit again. If I hadn't seen the caved in roof, and the SOS sign barely visible from the sky, I would never have found you." After a heavy pause, he adds, "If I had been late just another hour... Kyungsoo would have..."

   Baekhyun hears the unsaid words. _Kyungsoo would have died. And I would have died with him._ "Thank you, Chanyeol. I knew you would come."

   Chanyeol simply squeezes his shoulder, finally stopping outside the ICU.

   Baekhyun takes a shuddering breath. "Please tell me he's going to be okay..."

   "I can't tell you that. I don't know anything yet. I just know that he's alive," Chanyeol says softly, sadly. "He was in a bad condition Baekhyun, they... they barely found his pulse."

   "Stop, please..." Baekhyun gasps. "I just... just take me to him."

   Chanyeol wheels him inside, going down a row of rooms in the ICU section. He stops outside one room. There is a nurse sitting outside the door.

   "He's still unconscious," says the nurse, eyeing them.

   "Please, let me see him," Baekhyun pleads.

   The nurse huff, looking reluctant, she sits up and says, "Only five minutes."

   Baekhyun expects to see Kyungsoo the way he was as he slept. Instead, Kyungsoo is paler than the sheets, his lips are blue and there are dark circles under his eyes. But that's not why Baekhyun and Chanyeol gasp. It's Kyungsoo leg.

   Under the cast wrapped around the knee, Kyungsoo's leg is clearly, obviously missing. 

   "The infection was too much," says the nurse. "We had to cut it."

   Baekhyun tries to stand up, and Chanyeol helps him. They both have tears in their eyes. They shuffle close to Kyungsoo's bed, and up close, he's even weaker.

   Baekhyun takes Kyungsoo's hand, and tries to say something. Yet he can't, he just can't help his tears.

   Kyungsoo has wanted nothing more than to help his family, to become successful. And now, he was crippled.

   "Baekhyun, stop this," Chanyeol whispers, wiping his own eyes furiously. "There was nothing you could have done."

   "I should have been with him from the start. I should have taken better care of him."

   "Stop beating yourself up, Baekhyun. Kyungsoo wouldn't have wanted you to feel guilty."

   There is something in the way he says it, that makes Baekhyun pause. And the answer is so clear, so obvious, Baekhyun feels ashamed all over again.

   "You knew. You knew that he loved me."

   Chanyeol smiles, there's only sadness in his eyes. "Well, at least he told you. That's something."

   "I wish I knew... before all of this... I wish I could have held him before he went through all the pain."

   Kyungsoo stirs in his sleep. Chanyeol ducks his head, he has nothing he can say anymore.

 

JONGIN comes to visit them, he brings all of Kyungsoo's favorite foods. Baekhyun barely talks, alternating between quiet moments and trying to walk himself to the ICU. They aren't allowed back in just yet, but Baekhyun keeps an eye on Kyungsoo through the glass entrance.

   Twelve hours later, Chanyeol has had enough. "You need to eat, Baekhyun! You need to get better before he sees you again!"

   Baekhyun knows that he's right, so he decides to go with Chanyeol to the hospital cafeteria and eat most of what Jongin has brought with him. Jongin leaves after a while, but promises to come back again with more things for everyone.

   After a whole day, Baekhyun looks better already. He'd been taking in liquid as well as solid diet alternatively through the twenty-four hours, and was now capable of walking around without Chanyeol to support him. 

   But Kyungsoo still sleeps on.

   More than thirty hours pass. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are in hospital cafeteria when a male nurse comes running in. "I'm looking for someone named Baekhyun!" he announces, panting harshly. "Baekhyun! Is there a Baekhyun here!"

   Baekhyun all but collapses out of the chair in his hurry to stand up. "It's me! I'M BAEKHYUN!"

   "Come with me," says the nurse. "He's awake and he's been asking for you."

    Baekhyun stops short outside ICU, behind him, the nurse and Chanyeol catch up. 

   Chanyeol is almost grinning at him. "Go on. I'll wait here."

   But Baekhyun doesn't open the door at once. He wants to see Kyungsoo, but at the same time, he's scared to be the one to tell him that he may never walk on both legs. Then again, it's a huge news, and possibly the doctors have already told him.

   "Don't hesitate now, Baekhyun," says Chanyeol, something like a warning in his voice. "He needs you now more than ever."

    Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun opens the door and steps in. Chanyeol is right. Kyungsoo needs me.

    Kyungsoo is staring at the ceiling. He's normally still, but the stillness inside him now is almost breathtaking. He's weak, malnourished, pale and his room smells like medicines and death. Still, he's the most beautiful person Baekhyun has ever seen.

   "Kyungsoo," he breathes. 

   Kyungsoo's eyes focus on him, and his mouths parts in shock and relief. "Baekhyun... you are... okay!"

   Baekhyun launches himself on Kyungsoo. Mindful of all the needles and bruises, he holds on to Kyungsoo the best he can. "You don't need to worry about me at a time like this!"

   "How can I... not worry. I almost... thought... I lost you..."

   Baekhyun can't see very well through his tears now. "That's my line... I'm the one who almost lost you."

   Kyungsoo sighs. "I'm glad... that I was the one who decided to go... outside. I'm glad it's me."

   So, Kyungsoo has been told about his leg, hidden under the blanket for now. But Baekhyun didn't even detect even a hint of sadness in him. He truly meant what he said.

    _And that's why I'm in love with him. Because he's always, always so brave._

   "I need to tell you something," Baekhyun says, forcibly wiping his tears so he could meet Kyungsoo's eyes. "I love you, Do Kyungsoo. I think have been for a while. I'm sorry it took a hellish vacation for me to realize."

    Kyungsoo blinks and then his expression clears. "I knew it. They lied. I'm really... dead. Aren't I?"

   Baekhyun blinks too. "No, silly. You're just fine. And this is real. I love you, Kyungsoo." And then he shouts it. "I Love You!"

   Kyungsoo's eyes fill up again. "How... can you? Even though I'm... like _this?"_ He vaguely glares at the direction of his missing leg.

   Baekhyun smiles. "Then I'll just have to call you damaged goods." He leans down to capture Kyungsoo's lips in a quick, soft kiss. "But you're _my_ damaged goods. And I want you anyway."

   "I knew it!" Kyungsoo hiccups, tears free falling. "You're lying too. I have to be dead. This is a twisted, hospital version of heaven, isn't it?"

   Baekhyun can't help but laugh. Their tears mix together. And Baekhyun holds on to his Kyungsoo for the longest time. He knows, without a shadow of doubt... he'll never let this person go.

 


End file.
